Pressure grows on China to rein in North Korea after nuclear test

North Korea is seeking a peace treaty with the United States, China and South Korea to formally end the Korean War and will not stop its nuclear tests until it gets one, a person who relayed that message from North Korea to China told Reuters.

Yonhap said Seoul had deployed missiles, artillery and other weapons systems near the border on Friday to swiftly deal with any possible North Korean response.

The anti-Pyongyang propaganda was broadcast from noon across the border toward North Korea at 11 locations in frontline areas through a set of large loudspeakers, Xinhua reported.

South Korean officials said they may restart border propaganda broadcasts that Seoul had halted a year ago.

United Kingdom urged South Korea to show restraint as propaganda broadcasts against the North began.

In a statement on Thursday, the White House said both the USA and Japan deemed North Korea’s actions to be “yet another violation of its obligations and commitments under global law”.

After Kerry’s comments, a USA official admitted that “China has an influence on North Korea that nobody else has”.

The last time Seoul deployed the loudspeakers, in retaliation for a landmine blast in August that wounded two South Korean soldiers, it led to an armed standoff and exchange of artillery fire.

World powers are looking at ways to punish Pyongyang for the test of what it called a new and powerful hydrogen bomb. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Un might be termed as the ruthless dictator, but for North Koreans he is their saviour. Seoul turned off its speakers in August after marathon negotiations with the North. Seoul also limits the entry of some South Koreans to an industrial park in North Korea jointly run by the two Koreas, which has been a valuable cash source for the North.

However, instead of committing itself to compromising North Korea’s economy, China has opted to apply pressure on Pyongyang from a different angle.

North Korea on January 6 announced that it had “successfully” tested a hydrogen bomb, sparking criticism from around the world.

There is still widespread speculation over what device the North actually did test, but worldwide experts mostly concur that it could not have been a full-scale thermonuclear device as claimed.

“You know, you would have thought that those tough generals would’ve said “no way this is going to happen” when the father died”, Trump said, referencing former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s death in 2011.

Asked about a suggestion from U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that China could do more to rein in North Korea, Hua said: “What constructive efforts have they made?”

“The seismic data indicates it would be very small for a hydrogen test”.

Fusion is the main principle behind the hydrogen bomb, which can be hundreds of times more powerful than atomic bombs that use fission. He said that China’s approach to North Korea had failed.

To build its nuclear program, the North must explode new and more advanced devices so scientists can improve their designs and technology.