North Korea’s Kim boosts propaganda in praise of nuke test

A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016.

South Korean troops, near about 10 sites where loudspeakers started blaring propaganda yesterday, were on the highest alert, but have yet to detect any unusual movement from the North Korean military along the border, an official from Seoul’s Defense Ministry, who refused to be named, citing office rules, said.

North Korea said it tested a hydrogen bomb on Wednesday, displeasing China, its main ally, and the United States, which said it believed the blast was an ordinary atomic test rather than a much more powerful hydrogen bomb.

The nuclear-capable bomber took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and later was joined by F-16 and F-15 fighter jets in what USA officials said was meant to demonstrate the strength of the US alliance with South Korea.

On January 8 South Korea resumed propagandistic broadcasts on the border with DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Defense Ministry has confirmed its in discussions with the United States about additional USA deployments in South Korea.

Days after North Korea claimed it tested a hydrogen bomb, the United States responded with a display of military might on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a celebratory photo session in the wake of the country’s purported H-bomb test, as Seoul tightened control over a key symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will make a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, followed by a rare news conference, her office said. A top North Korean ruling party officials recent warning that the Souths broadcasts have pushed the Korean Peninsula “toward the brink of war” is typical of Pyongyangs over-the-top rhetoric.

One diplomatic source in Beijing said, “China believes South Korea, the USA and Japan are moving too quickly, and there is a lot of resentment about allegations that China is responsible”.

Even North Korea needs hard currency to pursue its nuclear ambitions.

The commander of combined US forces, Curtis Scaparrotti, made the order during a visit to the Osan Air Base which is operated jointly by the US and South Korea, a United States Forces Korea (USFK) official said.

Seoul is taking measures to protect its citizens north of the Korean demilitarized zone in Kaesong, where about 800 South Koreans are located in an industrial park that employs North Korean factory workers. As worldwide sanctions punishing Pyongyang for its first three nuclear tests appear to have failed in reining in the North’s nuclear program, China is increasingly seen as the only real power with leverage over the Kim Jong-un regime.