SKorea on Alert for More Trash Balloons from the North

FILE - South Korean soldier wearing protective gears checks the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)
FILE - South Korean soldier wearing protective gears checks the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)
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SKorea on Alert for More Trash Balloons from the North

FILE - South Korean soldier wearing protective gears checks the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)
FILE - South Korean soldier wearing protective gears checks the trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. (Im Sun-suk/Yonhap via AP, File)

South Korea's military said it was on alert for more trash-carrying balloons possibly arriving from North Korea on Sunday, Agence France Presse reported.

In two waves last week, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons with bags of trash into the South, describing them as a response to anti-Pyongyang propaganda balloons sent the other way by South Korean activists.

Pyongyang announced a halt to the balloons on Sunday but days later, a South Korean group called "Fighters for Free North Korea" said it had sent 10 balloons with K-pop music and 200,000 leaflets against leader Kim Jong Un.

The South Korean military is "closely monitoring with vigilance" because of "the possibility of more trash balloons descending around tomorrow", its spokesperson told AFP on Saturday.

North Korea had said it would respond with "wastepaper and rubbish" a hundred times the amount if more South Korean leaflets were sent.

The North Korean balloons last week landed in a number of locations in the South, and were found to be carrying garbage such as cigarette butts, cardboard scrap and waste batteries.

In response to the balloons, South Korea on Tuesday completely suspended a 2018 military deal with the North, which was meant to reduce tensions between the neighbors.

Authorities in Seoul have condemned the North Korean balloons as a "low-class" act and threatened countermeasures that it said Pyongyang would find "unendurable".



Norway and France to Boost Defense Cooperation

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attends a joint press statement after talks about strengthening security and defense in Europe, at Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attends a joint press statement after talks about strengthening security and defense in Europe, at Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
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Norway and France to Boost Defense Cooperation

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attends a joint press statement after talks about strengthening security and defense in Europe, at Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu attends a joint press statement after talks about strengthening security and defense in Europe, at Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

Norway and France have signed a letter of intent to expand and strengthen their defense and security policy cooperation, the Norwegian defense ministry said on Thursday.

Norway's Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met in Oslo to sign the agreement, Reuters reported.

The two countries plan enhanced cooperation on exercises and training in Norway and will work together to counter hybrid threats to critical infrastructure such as undersea cables and energy supply lines, the Norwegian ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers also discussed enhanced defense materiel cooperation, Norway said.