South Korea blasts propaganda messages and K-pop at shared border with North Korea in response to nuclear test
The resumption of the broadcasts, which blare out an eclectic mix of everything from K-pop and weather forecasts to snippets of news and critiques of the North Korean regime, revives psychological warfare tactics that date back to the 1950-53 Korean war.
South Korea on Friday resumed high-decibel propaganda broadcasts into North Korea as the United States ramped up pressure on China to bring Pyongyang to heel after its latest nuclear test.
The moves came as the international community scrambled to find common ground on how best to penalise the North following its shock announcement two days ago that it had successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb.
The resumption of the cross-border broadcasts, which blare out an eclectic mix of everything from K-pop and weather forecasts to snippets of news and critiques of the North Korean regime, revives psychological warfare tactics that date back to the 1950-53 Korean war. But they can be remarkably effective.
Their use during a dangerous flare-up in cross-border tensions last year infuriated Pyongyang, which at one point threatened artillery strikes against the loudspeaker units unless they were switched off.
The South finally pulled the plug after an agreement was reached in August to de-escalate a situation that had brought the two rivals to the brink of an armed conflict.
China had a particular approach that it wanted to make and we agreed and gave them time to implement that
Now they are back – punishment for Wednesday’s surprise nuclear test, which triggered global condemnation and concern, despite expert opinion that the yield was far too low to support the North’s claim that the device was an H-bomb.
