Korean Penisula tensions rise: North Korea fires missiles, sends garbage balloons over South Korea

North Korea launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan on Thursday morning local time, Yonhap agency reported. Earlier, Kim Jong Un's regime sent hundreds of giant balloons carrying bags of garbage over South Korea.

The missiles were launched around Sunan in Pyongyang at 6:14 AM local time. They flew approximately 220 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced.

According to Yonhap, the missiles might have been launched from a KN-25 multiple rocket launcher. North Korea has previously used missile tests as signals to the outside world, but the South Korean agency assessed that the launch of around 10 missiles at once is an unusual occurrence.

"Our military has strengthened monitoring and vigilance against additional launches, while closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles with the U.S. and Japanese authorities," the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated in a release sent to the media.

Yonhap reminds us that earlier this week, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying bags of garbage and waste over South Korea. Pyongyang suggested this was a retaliation for the anti-regime leaflet balloons sent by activists from South Korea.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has been agitated in recent months. Kim has formally rejected the idea of unifying the Korean states, describing South Korea as an enemy. According to some commentators, this has started a new, dangerous stage in the relations between the two hostile countries.

Experts believe that Kim feels emboldened by his country's progress in its nuclear and missile arms programs and the development of military cooperation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.