North Korean flying object which triggered warning shots from South Korea turns out to be a balloon

The flying object from North Korea, which prompted Seoul's forces to respond with warning shots, has turned out to be a balloon carrying propaganda leaflets. The South Korean military has confirmed the same.

South Korean forces fired dozens of warning shots at an unspecified flying material on Tuesday, 23 May amid the existing tensions in the region due to Pyongyang's repeated belligerent acts of launching missiles.

Earlier, the airborne object was suspected to be a drone. But, on Wednesday, 24 May, the South Korean military had ruled out the possibility that the object was an unmanned aircraft.

"Judging from the results of an analysis, (we) believe there is a low possibility that the objects were drones," defence ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said.

Moon added the object was consistent to that of a balloon with its trajectory to the direction of the wind. He also rejected the accusation that South Korean military had overreacted to the situation, reports the Yonhap news agency.

"The military was reacting in consideration of the worst-case scenario," Moon said. As many as 90 machine gun rounds were fired as soon as a flying object was detected trespassing the border, locally known as the military demarcation line (MDL), dividing the rival Koreas.

The Korean peninsula is in a state serious uncertainty in recent months as the reclusive North Korean regime continues to defy international calls for scaling down its weapons programme. Pyongyang has fired more than 10 missiles in 2017 alone, prompting its adversaries in the region and elsewhere to take up a flurry of measures.