S.Korea resumes broadcasting propaganda to North, raises alert

Attending the conference were Yoo Jeh-Seung, South Korea’s deputy minister for policy, US assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs David Shear and Japanese director-general of defense policy bureau Satoshi Maeda, local media reported.

North Korea didn’t immediately react, but its response could be especially harsh because of the high emotions surrounding the likely birthday of Kim, who is believed to be in his early 30s.

A male announcer could be heard from South Korea telling North Koreans that Kim Jong Un, the leader of their impoverished country, and his wife wear clothes costing thousands of dollars.

Most of the North’s 24 million people are only allowed to watch state TV and listen to radio stations that broadcast programs full of praise of Kim and criticism of South Korea and the U.S. Analysts say this information control helps buttress Kim’s totalitarian rule, and that Pyongyang worries South Korean broadcasts could destabilize its political system.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency session, diplomats pledged to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea, saying its test was a “clear violation” of previous U.N. resolutions.

He adds that in return for asking for restraint, the worldwide community needs to demonstrate to the South Koreans that it will do what’s needed to make sanctions against North Korea effective. For current sanctions and any new penalties to work, better cooperation and stronger implementation from China is seen as key.

A 5.1-magnitude natural disaster was reportedly felt 19 kilometers from a nuclear site after North Korea claimed it successfully conducted a hydrogen test. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday that the reason behind the quake is still unknown, but it was compared to a 4.9-magnitude natural disaster that was detected in the same area in 2013.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, meanwhile, asked South Korea to refrain from the propaganda broadcasts.

In the past, the broadcasts typically blared messages about alleged North Korean government mismanagement, human rights conditions, the superiority of South Korean-style democracy as well as world news and weather forecasts.

The one non K-pop song on the list is something of an oddity – a ballad called “A Centennial Life” which became a surprise hit for the veteran singer Lee Ae-Ran, 52, when she released it in March a year ago. Despite that, North Korean defectors say South Korean music is popular in their home country, with songs and other elements of South Korea popular culture smuggled in on USB sticks and DVDs.

The anti-DPRK broadcasting was restarted in August 2015, for the first time in 11 years, amid a surge in tensions, but it was stopped in the same month after the Aug. 25 inter-Korean agreement that defused the tensions.

For fear of possible DPRK provocations like aimed strike at the loudspeakers, the South Korean military deployed troops at the 11 locations on the highest alert.

Ministry officials refused to elaborate about what USA military assets were under consideration, but they likely refer to B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and nuclear-powered submarines.

The North’s claim of a successful test drew extreme skepticism overseas.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “The initial analysis is not consistent with the North Korean claims”.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers that it thought the estimated explosive yield from the blast was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce.

China, North Korea’s closest economic partner, has not concealed its annoyance with Pyongyang’s unexpected foray into what is its fourth nuclear test since 2006.