Friday’s moves came as the global community struggled to find common ground on how best to penalize North Korea following its announcement two days ago that it had successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb.
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The broadcasts are certain to draw a furious response from North Korea, which considers them a declaration of war because it is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of the authoritarian leadership of Kim.
South Korea has broadcast propaganda messages from loudspeakers towards North Korea in the past.
Washington (CNN)U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry publicly took issue with China’s policy towards its neighbor North Korea on Thursday and defended the U.S. handling of the crisis sparked by Pyongyang’s nuclear test earlier this week.
“Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the United States and Japan into a confrontation”, Cordesman said. “We know responding in this way is simply rising to the bait North Korea is presenting to us”.
When South Korea briefly resumed propaganda broadcasts in August after an 11-year break, the two Koreas ended up threatening each other with attacks that brought them to the brink of war.
North Koreans gather in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on January 8, 2016. The document states that the incident was a serious provocation and threatens regional security, and would further increase worldwide pressure and isolation of North Korea.
Sound from the speakers could be heard 10 kilometres into North Korea during the day.
Outside experts agree, saying the blast was more consistent with North Korea’s previous nuclear test, in 2013.
From Seoul to Washington, Beijing to the United Nations, world powers are looking at ways to punish Pyongyang for the test of what it called a new and powerful hydrogen bomb.
China’s Foreign Ministry urged North Korea to stick to its denuclearisation pledges and avoid action that would make the situation worse, but also said China did not hold the key to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.
According to South Korea’s Defense Ministry, the broadcasts can reach the intended target about 20 kilometers away during the night.
The claims by North Korea that it conducted a hydrogen bomb test are the top priority for talks during Mr Hammond’s visit.
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– At least three US intelligence-gathering aircraft, including an RC-135S, which is capable of collecting optical and electronic data from ballistic targets, depart from an American air base in southern Japan, presumably to determine what kind of nuclear device the North detonated. US President Barack Obama, confirming discussions with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said both Tokyo and Seoul were ready to work together.
