Waste carried by a North Korean balloon falls again on the presidential compound in Seoul

SEOUL: A North Korean balloon carrying trash landed at the presidential compound in Seoul on Thursday (Oct 24), authorities said, with local media reporting that it contained propaganda leaflets ridiculing President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife.

Militant groups in South Korea have long sent propaganda to the north, usually carried by balloons, including leaflets, U.S. dollar bills and sometimes USB drives containing K-pop or K-dramas, which are banned in the tightly controlled North.

North Korea has been bombing the South with balloons carrying trash since May, in retaliation for propaganda missives from militants.

A balloon from the North “exploded in the air and the fallen debris was identified as being scattered around Yongsan’s office” early Thursday morning, the presidential security service said in a statement sent to AFP, referring to at the presidential complex.

The service added that a safety inspection confirmed “it did not present any hazardous risks or contamination.”

This is the second time the South Korean leader’s office in downtown Seoul, protected by dozens of troops and a no-fly zone, has been directly hit by balloons launched from the North, the first incident s ‘being produced in July.