The South Korean military says North Korea has again sent balloons carrying trash and waste into South Korea in an apparent response to anti-Pyongyang leafleting by an activist group in the South.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons travelled eastward from northern Gyeonggi Province near the capital Seoul as of 11 p.m. on Saturday, and may be swept southward on the wind.

It is the third time since May that Pyongyang has sent a large number of trash-carrying balloons into the South.

On June 2, North Korea's vice defense minister announced the temporary halt of the balloon operation.

The official said the operation would resume if more anti-Pyongyang leaflets were sent North from the South.
He added that Pyongyang will respond by sending balloons carrying garbage amounting to 100 times the quantity of the propaganda leaflets.

The latest incident came after a group of North Korea defectors in the South on Thursday sent balloons carrying leaflets criticizing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with USB sticks containing South Korean dramas and other data.

The South Korean government is considering the resumption of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts toward the North near the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas.