South Korean authorities suspect that a North Korean trash balloon ignited a minor forest fire near the border on Monday, highlighting potential dangers from the balloons that have caused at least one other fire elsewhere.

Smoke was reported rising from a wooded area in Paju at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, and firefighters quickly deployed to the scene and brought the blaze under control within around 20 minutes, the North Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters told NK News.

“We believe the fire was caused by a [DPRK] balloon filled with trash, but we are still verifying the details,” the