Four South Korean defector groups launched balloons loaded with snacks and other items towards North Korea on Friday.

The North Korea Peoples' Liberation Front says it joined three other organizations in dispatching the balloons from near the port city of Incheon.

Defectors say they loaded 20 large balloons with snack cakes, compact discs and informational leaflets.

North Korea has lashed out at previous balloon launches, threatening to shell South Korea in response to such actions, which it calls deliberate provocations by Seoul that could lead to war.