South Korea says North Korea has again launched trash-carrying balloons across the border

PAJU, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is flying more trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, officials said Thursday, in the latest round of Cold War-style psychological warfare between the rivals.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected balloons launched from North Korea on Thursday morning following launches the previous evening. It said the North again floated balloons on Thursday evening.

Since May, North Korea has flown thousands of balloons toward South Korea to drop substances such as wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure, in what it described as retaliation against South Korean civilian activists who fly anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un.

The joint chiefs said North Korea launched around 420 balloons from Wednesday evening to early Thursday and about 20 of them had been discovered so far in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and nearby Gyeonggi province. It said the balloons that landed were filled with paper waste, plastic bottles and other trash but contained no hazardous materials.

The joint chiefs said North Korea flew another set of balloons on two separate launch events on Thursday. It advised people to report to the police or military if they see any fallen balloons and not to touch them. No major damage was immediately reported.

An Associated Press photojournalist spotted several sets of white balloons, which were tied in pairs, floating in the air above the inter-Korean border area from an observatory in the South Korean border city of Paju on Thursday morning.

Seoul’s city government issued text alerts Wednesday evening as the North Korean balloons began appearing over South Korean territory, advising people to stay indoors and beware of objects dropping from the sky.

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt.

South Korea, in response to the North Korean balloons, has reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North.

The tit-for-tat Cold War-style campaigns are adding to tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korea’s expansion of joint military exercises with the United States.

Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

FILE - A balloon presumably sent by North Korea, is seen in a paddy field in Incheon, South Korea, on June 10, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)

Visitors use binoculars to see the North Korean side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A visitor stands near a map of North Korea, in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A visitor uses binoculars to see the North Korean side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korean, along the military fences, are seen from South Korea's Paju Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Visitors look at the North Korean side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Visitors look at the North Korean side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

BANGKOK (AP) — Shanghai's airports were canceling hundreds of flights Sunday as they brace for impact from Typhoon Bebinca, which is due to make landfall in the early hours of Monday morning, the authorities said.

Flights past 8 p.m. local time will be canceled at Hongqiao and Pudong airports in the city, airport officials said in a statement, affecting more than 600 flights. The city also announced that it was suspending travel on some bridges while restricting movement on other highways.

Typhoon Bebinca is a few hundred kilometers away from the coast.

The typhoon's winds are expected to reach 151 kph (nearly 94 mph) by Sunday night, according to the China Meteorological Administration, which has categorized it as a strong typhoon.

State media reported that 377, 000 people had been evacuated from across Shanghai. Meanwhile, in the nearby city of Zhoushan, restaurants, supermarkets and shops shut down early for the day, and public transportation services were halted.

The storm is expected to bring up to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of rain to parts of the eastern coast that will be hardest hit, according to state media.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a ferry terminal is closed as they brace for impact from Typhoon Bebinca, in Xiangshan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Jiang Han/Xinhua via AP)

A view of pink cloudy skyline is seen in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Chinatopix Via AP)