STORY: North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and excrement to South Korea on Wednesday (May 29).

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader, said the balloons were “gifts of sincerity” for South Koreans who “cry for freedom of expression.”

South Korean military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to inspect and collect the objects.

Residents like Lee Si-eun received an alert warning them to keep away and report any sightings to authorities.

“It was so creepy and scary that the balloon might have fallen because North Korea might have a specific target. Everyone was so scared at that moment. I wondered what would have happened to us if there were not just garbage, but viruses or chemicals.”

More than 260 balloons had been detected as of Wednesday afternoon, and most of them have landed on the ground, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Photos released by the South’s military showed balloons with plastic bags tied to them and trash strewn around some collapsed balloons.

Yonhap news agency said some contained animal feces.

An official at Seoul’s presidential office said the North might want to “test” the South’s reaction but vowed to respond calmly.

Sending balloons to the North has been a tactic regularly used by South Korean activists.

They are often led by defectors escaped from North Korea.

North Korea has reacted angrily to those balloons, which usually carry anti-Pyongyang leaflets, mini radios, food and USB memory sticks with K-pop music videos and dramas.

The recent incident comes days after North Korea denounced balloons sent from the south, calling them “dirty things” and a “dangerous provocation.”

North Korea vowed on Wednesday to send more balloons to South Korea, dozens of times the number it said South Korea had sent into its territory, according to state media KCNA.