Seoul airport closed after rubbish-filled North Korean balloon lands on runway

This is not the first time operations have been disrupted at Incheon airport by balloons. Credit: Credit: AP.

Flights have been disrupted at South Korea's international airport after balloons filled with rubbish were launched by North Korea.

One balloon landed on the runway near passenger Terminal 2, which forced Incheon airport to temporarily shut.

This is the sixth time North Korea has flown rubbish-filled balloons into South Korea since late May and hundreds of them have landed on South Korean territory.

North Korea has flown rubbish-filled balloons over the border since late May Credit: AP.

South Korean public were urged not to touch any balloons that fell to the ground and to report them to police or military authorities.

North Korea says the balloons activities are a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists flying political leaflets criticising the North's leaders. Loudspeaker broadcasts have also been used on the border in retaliation to the balloons.

South Korean soldiers wearing protective gears check the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea Credit: AP.

This is not the first time takeoffs and landings have been disrupted at Incheon, which is about 40km from the North Korean border.

The disruption to domestic and international flights occurred between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m. The runway is now open, Incheon International Airport Corporation said.

FlightRadar24 showed eight arriving cargo and passenger flights were diverted to South Korea's Cheongju or Jeju airports and one China Cargo freighter from Shanghai was diverted to Yantai, China.

Previous North Korean balloon launches have included manure, cigarette butts, waste batteries and soil containing traces of human faeces and parasites. On this occasion, the balloons were mostly filled with scraps of paper this time.

A suspected hypersonic missile was also launched by North Korea but exploded in flight, as protests took place against the regional deployment of a US aircraft carrier for a military drill with South Korea and Japan.

Balloon launches and loudspeaker broadcasts are among psychological campaigns both Koreas used during the Cold War. The rivals agreed to halt such activities in recent years, but have occasionally resumed them when animosities rekindled.

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