North Korea sends more garbage-filled balloons to South, Seoul says

South Korea’s military says North Korea is again sending balloons, apparently carrying garbage, toward the South, sparking a bizarre bout of psychological warfare amid rising tensions between the war-torn rivals.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Saturday that winds could carry the balloons to regions north of the South Korean capital, Seoul. Seoul City Hall and the Gyeonggi provincial government issued text alerts urging citizens to be cautious of falling objects and to report to the military or police if they spot the balloons.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or property damage.

In recent weeks, North Korea has sent more than 2,000 balloons filled with waste paper, shreds of fabric and cigarette butts toward the South, in what North Korea said was retaliation for anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets being thrown across the border.

Pyongyang has long condemned such actions as it is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of leader Kim Jong-un’s authoritarian rule.

North Korea last flew balloons toward the South on July 24, when debris carried by at least one of them fell on the South Korean presidential compound, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. The balloon did not contain any hazardous materials and no one was injured, the South Korean presidential security service said.

South Korea, in response to the North’s balloon campaign, has activated its frontline loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda messages and K-pop songs. Experts say North Korea hates such broadcasts because it fears they could demoralize soldiers and residents on the front lines.

The Koreas’ Cold War-style back-and-forth campaigns are exacerbating tensions, with rivals threatening more aggressive action and warning of dire consequences.

Their relations have deteriorated in recent years as Kim continues to accelerate North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and verbally threatens nuclear conflict with Washington and Seoul. In response, South Korea, the United States and Japan have expanded their joint military exercises and sharpened nuclear deterrence strategies built around American strategic assets.

Experts say hostility could escalate further later this month when South Korea and the United States begin annual joint military exercises aimed at confronting nuclear threats from North Korea.

The renewed balloon campaign comes as North Korea struggles to recover from devastating floods that have submerged thousands of homes and vast swaths of farmland on its border with China.

North Korean state media reported Saturday that Kim had ordered authorities to bring about 15,400 people who had been displaced by flooding to the capital, Pyongyang, for better care, adding that it would take two to three months to rebuild homes in flood-hit areas.

He has so far rejected offers of aid from traditional allies Russia and China, as well as international aid groups, saying North Korea can handle the reconstruction on its own. He has accused “enemy” South Korea of ​​a “malicious smear campaign” aimed at tarnishing his government’s image, saying South Korea’s media outlets are exaggerating the damage and casualties caused by the floods.