Two large balloons carrying a package containing North Korean propaganda leaflets are tangled in telegraph wires in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap



By Lee Han-soo

Soldiers and police were sent to retrieve balloons carrying North Korean propaganda leaflets in Seoul, Monday.

The retrieval followed a report at 3:40 a.m. that two large white balloons carrying a box were hung across electrical wires near Yeokchon Elementary School in Eunpyeong-gu, according to Eunpyeong police station.

The police, in cooperation with Korea Electric Power Corp., retrieved the balloons at around 7 a.m.

The box contained 59 CDs, 154 leaflets and 77 envelopes containing dirt and excrement, according to police.

A military explosive ordnance disposal team and SWAT were at the scene in case of an explosion.

However, a news outlet said the balloons did not have the usual timer-attached explosive device set to detonate so the package drops.

The balloons came amid North Korea's carrot-and-stick tactic, with the North on May 24 demanding high-level military talks with the South. The North then intruded into South Korean waters across the Northern Limit Line on May 27.

With the South Korean government still refusing to change its stance until North Korea gives up its nuclear arsenal, experts are speculating that the North might try to draw a reaction from the South.