To hold talks on North Korea

Seoul, Jan 11 (IANS): North Korea has expanded propaganda broadcasts in border areas in response to South Korea’s resumption of such broadcasts, a South Korean official said on Monday.

But it has been in discussion with the South about deploying strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula after the test. Media said these could include nuclear-capable B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a nuclear-powered submarine.

Seoul also said on Monday that it would restrict access to the jointly run Kaesong industrial complex just north of the heavily militarised inter-Korean border to the “minimum necessary level” starting from Tuesday.

North Korea has bragged about the testing internally, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praising scientists in the country and telling his countrymen that more nuclear bombs would be created to show Western aggressors that North Korea is a formidable military force.

A U.S. B-52 bomber conducted a low-level flight today in the vicinity of Osan, South Korea, in response to a recent nuclear test by North Korea, U.S. Pacific Command said.

Hwang Joon-Kook, who represents South Korea at the aid-for-disarmament talks, will hold a meeting with his US and Japan counterparts on Wednesday in Seoul.

Seoul already has resumed loudspeaker broadcasts of propaganda and pop music across the DMZ that reportedly can be heard up to 6 miles away during the day and 16 miles at night into the North. North Korea is making its own broadcasts there, presumably to partially drown out the South Korean din.

The six-party talks involve South and North Korea, China, the US, Japan and Russian Federation.

World powers are looking for ways to punish the North over its disputed bomb test, which, even if were not of a hydrogen bomb, is still likely to have pushed Pyongyang closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

The United States has said it has no nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea. “The speedier-than-expected deployment could indicate signs of the U.S.’ intention that it will retaliate severely if the North makes further provocations”, a South Korean defense official told Yonhap news agency.

Curtis Scaparrotti, head of USA military deployment in South Korea, put his troops on the highest alert possible Monday to deter “any provocation coming from North Korea”, an official from United States Forces Korea said, according to Reuters. At the time, the North responded by threatening a nuclear attack on the US. Several months later, North Korea shelled South Korea’s Yeonyeong Island – killing four South Koreans – saying it had been provoked by Seoul’s annual military exercises.