South Korea resumes broadcasting propaganda to North, raises alert

In 2002, South Korea used loudspeakers to relay the news of their national soccer team’s storybook run to the semifinals of the World Cup soccer tournament, which was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

However, he said Thursday that the approach was no longer welcomed by the United States.

A visitor looks at a display illustrating the damage a 1MT class nuclear weapon would cause if detonated in Seoul, at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016.

South Korean companies – mostly small- and medium-sized – make products such as watches and fashion goods with cheap labor from North Korea. South Korea retaliated for North Korea’s nuclear test with broadcasts of… South Korea responded to North Ko… North Korea’s state TV announces hours later that scientists have achieved “perfect success” in testing a “miniaturized” H-bomb. Some defectors, who had served as front-line soldiers while in the North, have said they enjoyed South Korean broadcasts that contained pop songs and sometimes forecast rain and recommended gathering up laundry hung on outdoor clotheslines.

South Korea has resumed propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers into North Korea, a step that has angered the reclusive country in the past.

Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, tolerates no independent news media or public Internet access.

South Korean officials say there have been no disruptions so far at an industrial park jointly operated by the rivals in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. South Korea responded to North Korea’s nuclear test with broadca…

The resumption of the cross-border broadcasts, which include a mix of everything from K-pop and weather forecasts to snippets of news and critiques of the North Korean government, revives psychological warfare tactics that date back to the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korean propaganda is filled with threats of violence, but the country is also extremely sensitive to criticism of its authoritarian leadership, which Seoul resumed in its cross-border broadcasts on Friday for the first time in almost five months.

The resumption came in retaliation for North Korea’s first successful hydrogen bomb test on Wednesday. It strongly condemns the nuclear test as a “clear violation” of previous United Nations resolutions.

In 2010, South Korea restarted radio broadcasts and restored loudspeakers as part of retaliatory measures after a warship sinking blamed on North Korea that killed 46 South Korean sailors. Separate statements from the White House said Obama and the two Asian leaders also agreed to countries “agreed to work together to forge a united and strong global response to North Korea’s latest reckless behavior”.

Yonhap said the military had increased its cyberdefense agents deployment.

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 Japanese minister also stressed the need to use a joint military information sharing pact among South Korea, Japan and the U.S.in their efforts to jointly react to North Korea’s nuclear test. B-2 and B-52 bombers are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

— The U.N. Security Council holds an emergency meeting and pledges to swiftly pursue new sanctions against North Korea. Nuclear-tipped missiles could then be used as deterrents and diplomatic bargaining chips – especially against the USA, which Pyongyang has long pushed to withdraw its troops from the region and to sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War.