Pyongyang: Koreas up audio propaganda

The mutual propaganda attacks mark a further deterioration of relations between the two Korean states that have engaged in no serious talks in recent months.

North Korea denied its involvement in the explosion, threatening to shoot down loudspeakers on the border that the South Korean military is using for propaganda warfare against the North as a retaliation measure.

North Korea on Monday began blasting propaganda over loudspeakers across the border, days after the South took a similar step.

The official gave no further details and South Korea’s military said in a statement that the North Korean broadcasts were not clearly audible in South Korean areas.

South Korea said Tuesday it had reached agreement with North Korea on a minimum wage hike for North Korean workers at their Kaesong joint economic zone, ending a six-month dispute.

On Monday, U.S. and South Korean forces began annual joint military exercises that the North denounces as a preparation for war.

“This is about improving alliance capabilities and meeting our security commitments there, in the region and on the peninsula, and nothing more than that”, he told a regular news briefing.

South Korea has said the two soldiers wounded from the mine explosion were on a routine patrol at the southern part of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

Calling Staff Sgt. Hah, who lost both legs, Park said, “You and other service members have greatly touched the heart of the public”. It has served as a major revenue source for the cash-strapped North, while South Korea has utilized cheap but skilled North Korean laborers.

North Korea is intolerant of any outside criticism of its leadership, led by Kim Jong Un.

The joint factory park, opened in 2004, is the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation. South Korea returned fire, but no casualties were reported.