The Alaska Earthquake Center says its equipment picked up seismic activity after North Korea’s claimed detonation of a hydrogen bomb Tuesday.
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Included are songs by a young female singer, IU, whose sweet, girlish voice might be aimed at North Korean soldiers deployed near the border.
A South Korean military official told Reuters that Seoul and Washington had discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.
The South Korean Defense Ministry also said that USA and the South wanted to coordinate “appropriate” reactions to North Korea’s provocation.
China is said to be annoyed with North Korea’s most recent test, which came without advanced warning to any nation.
People walk by a screen showing the news reporting about an quake near North Korea’s nuclear facility, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.
The strategy has previously irritated Pyongyang, which has threatened to use force to stop it.
Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond yesterday urged the South to refrain from rising to the North’s bait.
But a nuclear-armed North Korea could result in a larger United States buildup of anti-missile gear on China’s doorstep.
It was unclear, however, how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has conducted four nuclear tests since 2006 while paying little heed to global pressure.
Rather than relying on sanctions alone, the South switched on loudspeakers at 11 sites along the inter-Korean border at noon Friday according to Seoul’s defense ministry, which warned that there would be an immediate retaliation if the North opened fire on the loudspeakers. “North Korea may be the stated reason, but Chinese strategists will see it as a move against China to limit its nuclear deterrence”.
South Korea halted the broadcasts later in August when it agreed with the North on a set of tension-easing measures.
Seoul asked Washington to deploy its B-52 bombers, B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighter jets, Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines stationed in Japan and the USA 7th Fleet, including the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. South Korea has found a rather unique way of responding to the dictator. It affects clients, potential buyers and service providers to 120 South Korean businesses in the North Korean border city.
The North’s claim of a successful test drew extreme skepticism overseas. That rivalry is playing out most visibly in the waters of the South China Sea, a vital trade route the United States fears Beijing wants to militarize, despite China’s denials.
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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another presidential candidate, said in a statement that the nuclear test, if confirmed, “will be just the latest example of the failed Obama-Clinton foreign policy”, referring to Kerry’s predecessor and the current Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton.
