North Korea's Waste Balloon Equipped With GPS Transmitter, South Korean Military Prepares For Emergency Situation

JAKARTA - Several balloons containing garbage flown by North Korea to South Korea have reportedly been equipped with GPS transmiters, South Korea's military said today.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff quoted from Yonhap-OANA, the GPS transmiter was found in several garbage balloons from North Korea, and Pyongyang may have used it to monitor the balloon's flight data.

A South Korean military official said his party was "tracking the possibility of North Korea developing floating technology and preparing for an emergency situation."

To date, North Korea is expected to have sent about six thousand garbage balloons to South Korea this year, the South Korean military said.

North Korea is estimated to have spent 600 million won (444,148 US dollars of around Rp6.91 billion) on this waste balloon campaign, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.