During a photo session with hundreds of participants at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, the young ruler lauded them for “glorifying the long-held missions of his predecessors” by successfully carrying out what he said was a hydrogen bomb test? a claim that has become the subject of dispute among outside observers.
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North Korean top leader Kim Jong Un has defended Wednesday’s nuclear test as a self-defensive step against a United States threat of nuclear war.
“There has been an increase in troops along the border following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test”, Kim said.
The website of South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Monday that the Korean Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea is likely to undertake hit-and-run provocations in response. Previous year the two sides exchanged artillery fire because of the loudspeakers before coming to an agreement to end further provocations; an agreement that Seoul says Pyongyang violated with its recent nuclear test.
CNN is the only US broadcaster operating in North Korea.
Both US and South Korean media have speculated that Washington may utilize B-2 stealth bombers, F-22 stealth fighter jets and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which is now based in Japan.
In a show of force & support the USA sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a flight over South Korea.
In the aftermath of the test, South Korea beefed up its defensive positions near sites where it set up loudspeakers blaring messages critical of North Korea along with K-pop music.
Meanwhile, Seoul continued its propaganda broadcasts in some 10 areas around the tense border over the weekend, although a senior official of the North’s ruling party warned last Friday that the broadcasts are bringing the current situation to the “brink of war”.
Now, as an array of nations contemplates major sanctions against North Korea, individually and in concert through the United Nations, they should enlist China as an ally.
North Korea has been roundly condemned for its nuclear tests, including this one.
That reaches numerous huge force of North Korean soldiers stationed near the border, as well as residents in border towns such as Kaesong, where the Koreas jointly operate an industrial park that has been a valuable cash source for the impoverished North.
North Korea has reportedly shown no signs of military action over South Korea’s broadcasts.
Officials say 512 South Koreans stayed at the park overnight, and 479 of them were scheduled to return to the South later on Saturday.
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FILE – A Chinese-built fence near a concrete marker depicting the North Korean and Chinese national flags with the words “China North Korea Border” at a crossing in the Chinese border town of Tumen in eastern China’s Jilin province.
