North Korean Waste Balloon Disrupts Flights In Seoul, Triggers Building Roof Fire
JAKARTA - North Korea has sent about 500 balloons filled with garbage to South Korea's airspace over the past 24 hours, officials in South Korea said.
The air balloon disrupted the flight and sparked a fire on the roof of the residential building.
The balloons were part of Pyongyang's ongoing propaganda campaign against North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea, who regularly deliver balloons carrying items such as anti-Pyongyang leaflets, drugs, money, and USB containing K-pop videos and dramas.
A balloon allegedly delayed takeoff and landing at Seoul's Gimpo Airport on Wednesday, July 24 evening, for two hours, an official at Korea Airports Corporation said.
The balloon has affected traffic at South Korea's main international airport, Incheon, several times in recent weeks.
In Gyeonggi, a province near Seoul, balloons caught fire on top of a residential building. Firefighters extinguished the fire, an official said at the North Gyeonggi Disaster and Fire Center.
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The South Korean military said some balloons of garbage were equipped with poppers that could cause fires.
A time regulator is mounted on a balloon, which has the effect of erupting balloons and spreading garbage after a certain period of time has passed, Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lee said 480 balloons had landed, mostly carrying paper and plastic waste in South Korea on Thursday.