SEOUL, The presidential office said Tuesday the government will come up with measures to compensate people who suffered property damage from North Korea’s trash-filled balloons.

Presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk ordered the presidential secretary for state affairs monitoring to devise compensation measures after he was briefed on the extent of damage caused by the balloons, a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

Details are expected to be discussed during an inter-agency meeting involving the interior ministry later in the day. The reported damage has included a broken windshield.

Possible measures include creating a compensation fund under the relevant local governments, as was done in similar cases in the past.

Current laws do not offer the legal basis for the government to provide compensation in cases of property damage caused by North Korea’s provocations or trash-filled balloons.

The government and the ruling People Power Party plan to first compensate the victims of the latest c
ase and then push for a law revision to establish the legal grounds for similar incidents in the future.

North Korea sent nearly 1,000 trash-carrying balloons into the South starting last Tuesday, calling it a “tit-for-tat” action against South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets into the North.

After Seoul hinted Sunday at resuming loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border, Pyongyang said it would temporarily halt the balloon operations.

Source: Yonhap News Agency