North Korea has again launched balloons presumed to be carrying trash toward South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.

The JCS said the balloons appeared to be travelling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul.

It advised the public to not touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police.

North Korea is estimated to have launched more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons since late May in a tit-for-tat move against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by North Korean defectors and activists in the South.

On Tuesday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned that South Korea will face “gruesome and dear” consequences if it lets North Korean defectors continue to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North.

Source: Yonhap News Agency