North Korea launched a new batch of “trash balloons” towards its southern neighbor on Wednesday night, according to local media reports.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the North launched over 160 balloons carrying trash across the border.
The report cited South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) which said it discovered numerous “trash bundles” containing paper, plastic bottles, and other household waste in areas of Gyeonggi Province, surrounding the capital of Seoul.
Earlier this month, the JCS had reported that North Korea had allegedly launched balloons into South Korea.
The trash bundle is the latest act in the ongoing tit-for-tat between the two Koreas, who have been engaged in Cold War-style tactics since the beginning of the year. This includes North Korea previously launching balloons towards the South, filled with wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts, and even manure.
North Korea claims the balloons are a response to South Korean civilian activists who fly anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.
Trash carried by at least one balloon landed on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials confirmed that the balloon contained no dangerous materials and no one was injured.
South Korea has retaliated by using front-line loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda messages and K-pop songs towards the North.
The back-and-forth tactics are adding to the tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korea’s increased joint military exercises with the U.S.