North Korea, long a master of trash-talking, is following through with a trash attack — literally. Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon reports that some 260 “filth balloons” from North Korea had floated across the Demilitarized Zone into South Korea between late Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons, some equipped with timer devices apparently designed to disperse their cargoes, dumped garbage and sacks of manure across South Korea. Landings have been reported on roads, apartment gardens and even greenhouses roofs. Some reached as far as 155 miles south of the border.

The North has long complained about balloons carrying anti-regime propaganda launched by activists in South Korea.

Stanford University’s top researchers are attempting to build an artificial intelligence model that can predict the Chinese government’s moves at war, as fears grow in Washington that the communist regime may soon invade Taiwan.

From Beijing to Washington, a growing cohort of technologists are turning to AI for answers about the thinking and intentions of Chinese President Xi Jinping. While the U.S. uses AI to understand how Beijing may escalate competition into war, China is hoping AI can provide a 21st-century update on Mao’s “Little Red Book.”

National Security Tech Correspondent Ryan Lovelace looks at the Stanford program, writing that China is building its own AI model based on “Xi Jinping Thought,” according to reports citing the Cyberspace Administration of China, the government’s internet regulator. The tool is expected to answer questions, summarize information and translate between Chinese and English. It remains unknown how it will be used.

The Kremlin is taking a page from the former Soviet Union’s playbook by emphasizing the political indoctrination of the armed forces now mired in a long and costly fight in neighboring Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has rolled out the first issue of Politruk, a new training journal for the military. It is intended to help instructors carry out the political education of the troops, according to an assessment by British military intelligence.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin, who heads the main political directorate of Russia’s military, has said Politruk “draws heavily” on the legacy of Soviet military publications aimed at the political education of military personnel. The journal notably echoes claims made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has attempted to portray Ukrainian statehood as historically inauthentic.

Japanese fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Chinese military drone spotted for the first time flying over the East China Sea, Tokyo’s defense ministry disclosed this week.

The Chinese WL-10 reconnaissance and strike uncrewed aerial vehicle was tracked flying over waters near Okinawa on Monday, prompting the fighter jet response, the Joint Staff Office stated in a press release. Photos of the drone were released by the defense ministry.

The Joint Staff Office stated that fighter jets were dispatched to intercept the drone by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Southwestern Air Command Support Flight, an air force unit located at the Naha Air Base in Okinawa. The type of jets used in the interception was not disclosed.

The U.S. and Russia have parity with respect to strategic nuclear weapons, but the imbalance in nonstrategic — “tactical” — nuclear weapons, which are not subject to any treaty, is immense, write David Jonas and Patrick Rhoads.

The Russians enjoy at least a 10-to-1 advantage over the United States in these lower-yield nuclear weapons, while China is in the middle of a massive nuclear buildup, which has been described as “breathtaking” by the former commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, they write, adding that “the buildup is expected to bring China to parity with the U.S. and Russia in about a decade.”

“While the U.S. is just now embarking on its nuclear modernization efforts, China and Russia are completing their programs,” Mr. Jonas and Mr. Rhoads write. “We have never faced the prospect of two peer or near-peer nuclear rivals and do not yet have the analytical and intellectual bases to address the emergent nuclear tripolarity.”

The flag of the United Nations was flown at half-staff last week to honor the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the “Butcher of Tehran” who was responsible for torturing and executing thousands of Iranian political prisoners, minorities and women, writes Threat Status opinion contributor Clifford D. May.

“The regime he served supports Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and the Houthis of Yemen,” writes Mr. May, who notes how last week also saw Norway, Spain and Ireland announce they would recognize a Palestinian state — a development that prompted Hamas to express its “gratitude for this ‘historic turning point’ brought about by the ‘brave resistance.’”

He goes on to argue that the U.N. and many other international organizations have become “clubs for tyrants,” while noting how, during World War II, Norway, Spain and Ireland were “neutral toward — or actively supportive of — the Nazis, whose big ideas included mass-murdering Jews.”