North Korea sends 20 more trash balloons toward South Korea: JCS

Seoul: North Korea has floated more trash balloons toward South Korea, the military said Saturday, after the reclusive regime claimed the South had sent unmanned drones over Pyongyang three times since last week.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea sent around 20 balloons starting late Friday until early Saturday morning, with some 10 of them landing in the inter-Korean border county of Cheorwon in Gangwon Province, Yonhap news agency reported.

The JCS said that the bundles consisted of household garbage, such as scrap paper and plastic, and no hazardous substances were detected.

It marked the 28th time North Korea has sent trash balloons to South Korea since May.

North Korea, meanwhile, claimed on Friday that South Korea had sent unmanned drones carrying leaflets over Pyongyang on October 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, however, said that he could not confirm the North's claim.