North and South Korea have been engaged in a series of incidents involving the sending of balloons carrying waste materials and propaganda across their border.
According to multiple sources, North Korea has sent at least 260 balloons over the border into South Korea since Tuesday night. The balloons were reportedly filled with manure, trash, old batteries, leaflets, fertilizer and other waste.
South Korean military found fertilizers in the balloons. North Korea often uses human feces as fertilizer.
The incidents come after South Korean activists sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border earlier in May. In response, North Korea threatened to send filth balloons back to South Korea as a countermeasure.
This is not the first time North Korea has engaged in such actions. Similar incidents occurred between 2016 and 2018.
The waste materials were found primarily in the border provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon, but they were also seen hundreds of miles south in South Gyeongsang.
South Korea sent out a government emergency disaster alert urging people to refrain from touching the objects and to report any more incidents to the military.
North Korea's actions violate international law and threaten the safety of South Korean people. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea urged North Korea to cease its 'inhumane and vulgar behaviors' immediately.
The standoff between the two neighbors has been escalating in recent months, with tensions rising over issues such as military actions and propaganda leaflets.
