The South Korean military’s psychological department produces content for the FM radio station Voice of Freedom, which from noon (0300 GMT) on Friday was channelled to the speakers randomly for up to six hours a day.
Advertisement
After land mines injured two South Korean border guards in August, the country blared criticism of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, along with some peppy, Korean pop music.
South Korea has resumed propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers into North Korea, a step that has angered the reclusive country in the past.
South Korea declared Thursday that it would resume cross-border anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts, a tactic that led the two neighbors to the brink of war when it was used a year ago.
“The North’s fourth nuclear test is a grave violation” of the August deal, Cho Tae-yong, deputy chief of the South Korean presidential office of national security, told journalists while announcing the resumption of propaganda broadcasts.
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, has urged China to get tough with North Korea after Pyongyang reportedly conducted a nuclear test earlier this week.
Given that the North views border propaganda as an act of war, Friday’s move would not have been a welcome gift to leader Kim Jong-un on his 33rd birthday. Separate statements from the White House said Obama and the two Asian leaders also agreed to countries “agreed to work together to forge a united and strong global response to North Korea’s latest reckless behavior”.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday said that China holds no “key” to curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Yonhap reported.
Tokyo’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters that it would be “difficult to reason North Korea tested a typical hydrogen bomb”, Jiji Press reported.
He said that South Korea is maintaining its highest level of readiness and is ready to respond resolutely if North Korea makes any provocation.
A resolution was finally reached after North Korea “expressed regret” for the blasts and the South agreed to turn off the loudspeakers in return.
Washington has said it will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and will continue to pile on diplomatic and economic pressure until Pyongyang backs down.
But U.S. officials have cast doubt on the claim the exploded device was a hydrogen bomb.
Advertisement
Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission.
