LONDON and SEOUL — Trash carried by a North Korean “trash balloon” landed inside the South Korean presidential complex in the capital Seoul on Thursday, amid growing tensions between the two neighbors.
South Korea’s presidential security service “identified trash that exploded in the air and fell on the office grounds early this morning,” the service said in a statement Thursday.
“After a safety inspection, the service recovered the fallen objects after confirming that they pose no danger or contagiousness,” the service added. “The service is monitoring the situation in cooperation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
This is the second time a North Korean trash balloon has fallen inside the South Korean presidential office complex.
Balloons carrying trash launched across the border by North Korea float in the sky above Seoul, South Korea, October 4, 2024.
Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images
Cross-border balloons are part of the recent deterioration in inter-Korean relations, with the period of diplomatic thaw from 2017 giving way to new tensions since the election of conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in spring 2022.
The balloons carried household waste, including paper, vinyl and plastic bottles, according to the South Korean military. Some garbage balloons carried manure.
Several fires have also been reported in metropolitan areas attributed to “heat timers” attached to the balloons.
North Korea launched a total of 5,500 garbage balloons toward South Korea 22 times between May 28 and September 23 this year, Lee Sung-joon, a spokesperson for the heads of state, said last month. -South Korean joint major.
Seoul estimates that North Korea spent 550 million won, or about $411,600, to produce the balloons, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Lee said in September, after launching 120 balloons, that Seoul would consider military action to bring them down if necessary. “If North Korea’s continued garbage balloons are deemed to pose a serious threat to the safety of our citizens or have crossed the line, the military will take severe military action,” he said. declared.
This combination of photos released by the official Korean News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on October 19, 2024 shows an alleged balloon and objects from South Korea discovered in a border area.
Str/KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image
South Korean civic groups have also launched balloons across the border, much to Pyongyang’s dismay.
These balloons often carry rice, essential medicines and leaflets criticizing leader Kim Jong Un’s regime. North Korea has repeatedly protested such actions and threatened to retaliate.
The border region has been particularly tense this month. On October 15, Seoul said North Korea had blown up two border roads and deployed “heavy equipment” for “further operations.”
South Korean troops along the border fired warning shots in response, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The detonations followed a North Korean warning that it intended to permanently close border access roads, cut rail and road links and strengthen defensive fortifications.
The explosions came shortly after Kim ordered his artillery forces – traditionally the most potent threat to the capital Seoul, located about 35 miles from the border – to be on full alert, after having accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang.
This screenshot from a video released by the South Korean Defense Ministry shows an explosion on a highway connecting North and South Korea on October 15, 2024.
Document/Ministry of Defense of South Korea/AFP
The confrontation on the Korean Peninsula could now spread to Ukraine, where Seoul, kyiv and Washington DC have accused Pyongyang of deploying troops to support the Russian invasion.
Yonhap reported that Seoul is now considering sending weapons to Ukraine in response, having so far only provided humanitarian aid.
Yonhap also said South Korea plans to send military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine to investigate North Korean battlefield performance and assist in interrogations of captured North Korean fighters.
Ellie Kaufman of ABC News contributed to this report.
