North Korea’s trash balloons explained

May 28-29, June 1-2 FIRST AND SECOND WAVES North Korean state media said the country launched over 3,500 balloons After a week, The North released more. A torrent of trash How North Korean balloons have dropped tonnes of waste on the South North Korea has sent aloft thousands of balloons with bags of trash attached since May, which have crossed the border to become a new source of tension with the neighbouring South. The balloons have disrupted flights at Seoul’s Incheon airport, sparked a fire on the roof of a residential building, and even landed in the precincts of the South’s presidential palace. Across swathes of the country, they have hit cars, farms, neighbourhoods, restaurants, and schools. At least 1,300 arrived in all but two provinces of South Korea, according to the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). Where some balloons were found Of the hundreds that landed, CSIS used local media reports to locate 130 of the sites, shown below. The true number of landing sites is much higher, however, with waste found in 3,359 places nationwide from May 28 to July 25, according to police data provided to Yang Bu-nam, a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic