Latest News

Incheon airport briefly closes down runways since of North Korea trash balloons

Launch and landing at South Korea's Incheon international airport was interfered with on Wednesday for about 3 hours before dawn due to the fact that of balloons released by North Korea filled with refuse, an airport representative stated.

One balloon arrived at the tarmac near traveler Terminal 2 and the 3 runways at Incheon were momentarily shut down, the representative said.

North Korea has flown balloons bring garbage into South Korea since late May, with hundreds landing in South Korea.

Several balloons were found in and around the airport borders, the representative said, adding that this was not the very first time operations at the airport - which is about 40km from the North Korean border - had actually been disrupted by balloons nearby.

The disruption to domestic and global flights took place between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m., and the runways have re-opened ever since, Incheon International Airport Corporation said.

Flight volume at that time of day is normally low. FlightRadar24 showed shows 8 arriving freight and passenger flights were diverted to South Korea's Cheongju or Jeju airports during that time, and one China Freight freighter from Shanghai was diverted to Yantai, China.

Several more landings were postponed, and departures were postponed by numerous hours.

North Korea has said the balloons are retaliation for a. propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in. the South who frequently send over balloons carrying food,. medication, money and leaflets criticising the North's leaders.

Among the products brought by the North Korean balloons have. been articles printed with Hi Cat characters, severely used. clothing, and soil consisting of traces of human faeces and. parasites, South Korea has actually said.

(source: Reuters)