United Kingdom to SKorea: Go easy on the K-pop border blasts

Pyongyang is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of his authoritarian leadership, and its reaction could be especially harsh because of the high emotions surrounding his likely birthday.

But the broadcasts restarted at noon local time on Friday (0200 CET).

The Yonhap report cited an unidentified defense official. North Korea tightly controls the media in-country and portrays the young leader as a near deity. After first threatening to fire artillery at the speakers, North Korea switched to seeking talks and then agreed to end the confrontation.

China is the reclusive North’s main economic and diplomatic backer, and the two fought side-by-side during the Korean War.

He told parliament Japan would “deal with this situation in a firm manner through the co-operation with the United Nations Security Council”. North Korea is already heavily sanctioned.

On Wednesday, December 6, North Korea carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test at 10:00 am (0330 GMT), AFP quoted the republic’s state television as announcing.

South Korea, which has grown increasingly close to China in recent years, says its foreign minister will speak with his Chinese counterpart later on Friday. “We urge South Korea to exercise restraint”, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said during a visit in Japan, according to Reuters.

Songs from South Korean K-Pop acts including GFriend, a female group that found fame when its members fell multiple times on stage, and Lee Ae-ran, a singer who rose from obscurity last year with a song about living for 100 years, were among those blared from loudspeakers, the Associated Press reported. “We have to be bigger than the North Koreans…”

About sanctions against North Korea, Merrill said, “Because North Korea is not a democratic country, it can manage one way or another to absorb the effects of sanctions”. South Korean nuclear power plants reportedly experienced cyber attacks in the past that officials said were caused by North Korean hackers.

Wednesday’s blast – which Pyongyang claimed involved hydrogen bomb technology – is set to provoke yet another United Nations Security Council response aimed at reining in North Korea’s nuclear weapon ambitions, following a series of resolutions after past provocations by the North.

South Korean and USA military leaders also discussed the deployment of US “strategic assets” in the wake of the North’s test, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The long-range bomber, which is capable of delivering nuclear weapons, could be seen flying Sunday over Osan Air Force Base south of Seoul.

Experts, meanwhile, are trying to uncover more details about the detonation that drew worldwide skepticism and condemnation.

The move was a clear violation of the six-point inter-Korean agreement struck on August 25, in which the South promised to pull the plug on the broadcasts as long as there was no “unusual activity” from Pyongyang. If Beijing is really determined to stop the North’s nuclear program, it should show it in deeds rather than in words.

The South Korean city of Paju, which sits along the border with North Korea, suspended tours of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) at the military’s request.