According to Yonhap News Agency, a balloon loaded with garbage sent by North Korea fell on the grounds of the South Korean presidential office.
Other South Korean media reported no damage was caused by the balloons. AFP reported that the South Korean government had mobilized chemical response teams after the balloon explosion. Yonhap News Agency gave no further details.
It was the first time since May that South Korea's presidential palace in central Seoul, which is guarded by dozens of soldiers and a no-fly zone, has been hit directly by thousands of balloons loaded with trash launched by North Korea.
“Chemistry, biology, radiation [warfare] “Response teams successfully retrieved the garbage balloon,” the Presidential Guard told AFP.
“Inspection has confirmed that the object poses no hazard or contamination.”
South Korea's military had earlier said North Korea had launched more balloons, possibly loaded with trash, and that a North Korean balloon had crossed the border and flown north of Seoul on Wednesday morning.
It was North Korea's 10th such balloon launch since late May, with more than 2,000 giant balloons dropping waste paper, rags, cigarette butts and even fertilizer into South Korea. North Korea says it is responding to South Korean activists using its own balloons to drop political leaflets across the border.
Observers say South Korea would respond strongly if North Korea were to use a timer or other device to deliberately drop a balloon on an important site like the Blue House. The National Security Agency did not say whether President Yun Seok-yeo was at the Blue House at the time. The Blue House had previously said the president had no official schedule for Wednesday.
In June, Seoul airport was closed due to balloons sent from North Korea.
The resumption of balloon flights comes as South Korea has stepped up its efforts to broadcast K-pop songs and propaganda messages to the front line across enemy countries' heavily militarised borders.
The Cold War-style tit-for-tat battle between North and South Korea has raised tensions on the Korean peninsula, with both sides threatening tougher measures and warning of serious consequences.
Experts say North Korea sees South Korea's civilian leafleting activities as a major threat to its efforts to block the flow of foreign news and maintain its authoritarian rule. In past violent responses to South Korean leafleting, North Korea destroyed a vacant liaison office built by South Korea on its territory in 2020 and opened fire on incoming balloons in 2014.
North Korean balloons have not caused any major damage, but they have raised concerns among those worried that North Korea could drop dangerous materials, such as chemical or biological weapons.
South Korea said Sunday it would step up loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-Pyongyang propaganda at all key points along its land border as North Korea continues to launch garbage-laden balloons. South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts last Thursday for the first time in about 40 days in retaliation for North Korea's past balloon activities.
Observers say South Korean propaganda broadcasts can undermine morale among North Korea's frontline troops and civilians. In 2015, North Korea was so enraged by the resumption of South Korean propaganda broadcasts that it fired artillery shells across the border, prompting South Korea to retaliate.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
