North Korean trash balloon sparks fire in Seoul
What's the story
A trash balloon sent from North Korea to South Korea landed on a building rooftop in Seoul, sparking a fire that took nearly 20 minutes to extinguish. The incident occurred around 9:04pm local time (1204 GMT) on Sunday. "A fire broke out on the rooftop of a four-story commercial building in the Western district of Seoul," confirmed the Gangseo Fire Station in Seoul.
Swift response
Firefighters respond swiftly, no casualties reported
The fire was successfully extinguished within 18 minutes by a team of firefighters. To prevent the fire from spreading, 15 fire trucks were deployed to the scene. According to reports from the fire department, there were no casualties resulting from this incident. The trash balloon that caused the fire is part of a larger campaign by North Korea which launched 120 such balloons toward South Korea on Sunday night.
Balloon warfare
Trash balloons: A new tactic in cross-border tensions
The South Korean military reported that North Korea had previously sent 50 additional balloons on Saturday. Out of these, 40 have already landed in South Korea, primarily in northern Gyeonggi Province and Seoul. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that the trash balloons mostly contained "paper and plastic waste," posing no risk to the public.
Retaliatory action
Tensions between North Korea, South Korea
The escalation follows instances of South Korean activists launching balloons carrying anti-regime propaganda leaflets and money across the border into North Korea. These campaigns have long infuriated Pyongyang, which possibly fears that outside information could destabilize its tightly controlled society and threaten the Kim Jong Un regime. In retaliation, North Korea threatened to take similar action in May.
Escalating tensions
Over 5,000 trash balloons sent by North Korea
Since then, North Korea has sent over 5,000 trash balloons southward. These balloons are now equipped with timer devices that can cause fires. Earlier this month, these balloons caused two fires: one near an airport and another at a storage unit. JCS spokesperson Lee Chang-hyun told reporters that "Some North Korean trash balloons have thermal timers that could potentially cause fires if they don't separate properly when the heating wire is activated."