Toy balloons released by kindergarten children have sparked a security alert in South Korea amid growing military tensions with North Korea.
Troops and police mobilised a special task force on Thursday after a resident of Ansan, 35km southwest of Seoul, reported that 40 to 50 flying objects resembling parachutes fell on a mountain the previous night.
They turned out to be balloons from a nearby kindergarten, a defence ministry spokesman said.
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An explosion on June 7 on Yeonpyeong Island, near the sea border with North Korea, along with the discovery of a diving suit on the island's shoreline, also sparked alerts.
A joint military and police investigation found that the diving suit was abandoned by a fisherman and the explosion was not suspicious.
Growing tension
State inspectors strongly criticised military chiefs for their inadequate response to the sinking of a warship near the disputed sea border on March 26, with the loss of 46 lives.
South Korea announced reprisals against North Korea after a separate multinational investigation concluded that a submarine from the North had torpedoed the warship.
The North, which denies involvement, has threatened military action if the United Nations Security Council accepts Seoul's request to censure Pyongyang.
