North Korea Warns 'Psychological Broadcasts' By South Korea Are Pushing Peninsula To 'Brink Of War'
North Korea On 'Brink Of War' Over 'Psychological Broadcasts' By 'Jealous' South
Paul Vale— The Huffington Post UK
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The propaganda broadcasts by South Korea directed over the border at their northern neighbours is driving the peninsula to the “brink of war,” according to a top North Korean official. Reported by Reuters, the grave warning was made at a rally in Pyongyang on Friday, marking the first response by the regime to the cross-border bombardment renewed in response to the North’s fourth nuclear test on Wednesday.
The North Korean regime claimed the blast was a hydrogen bomb, the first in the country’s history, however experts in Europe and the US, as well as the White House, have cast doubt on that claim. Regardless, the test was enough for Seoul to retaliate with the deafening propaganda, which were last used in August last year. That barrage so upset the North that it led to an exchange of artillery fire across the border.
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North Korean military personnel clap hands in a rally, after North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016
The propaganda, which is broadcast from loudspeakers in 11 positions in the south, throws criticism at the sensitive Kim regime, which the North regards as insulting.
Addressing a crowd on Friday, Kim Ki Nam, head of the ruling Workers' Party propaganda department, said: “Jealous of the successful test of our first H-bomb, the US and its followers are driving the situation to the brink of war, by saying they have resumed psychological broadcasts and brought in strategic bombers."
Images of the rally, held in Pyongyang, were broadcast on North Korean state TV, with the crowd clapping and holding placards in tribute to the leader Kim Jong-un. One banner read: "We passionately celebrate the historic national event that is the success of the first hydrogen bomb test."
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A South Korean soldier stands near the loudspeakers near the border area between South Korea and North Korea in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016
Rising tensions following the nuclear test have led to discussions between Seoul and Washington about deploying US bombers in South Korea, as well as a nuclear-powered submarine off the coast of the peninsula.
Earlier on Friday, North Korea released footage of what the regime called a missile test, the film showing a submarine launch with Kim watching on from the deck of a nearby vessel. However, experts in South Korea dismissed the video as a montage of previous tests.
Japan's meteorological agency officer Yohei Hasegawa displays a chart showing seismic activity, (at L top is today's observation result, observed in China) after a North Korean nuclear test, at the agency in Tokyo on January 6, 2016. (credit:YOSHIKAZU TSUNO via Getty Images)
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People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test at a railroad station in Seoul on January 6, 2016. South Korea 'strongly' condemned North Korea's shock hydrogen bomb test and vowed to take 'all necessary measures' to penalise its nuclear-armed neighbour. (credit:JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images)
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A South Korean army soldier watches a TV screen showing a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A TV screen shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an electronics store in Tokyo, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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North Koreans react as they watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside Pyongyang Railway Station in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A man watches a news report at a railroad station in Seoul on January 6, 2016, after seismologists detected a 5.1 magnitude tremor next to North Korea's main atomic test site in the northeast of the country. (credit:JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images)
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South Korean watch a television broadcast reporting the North Korea's Hydrogen Bomb Test at the Seoul Railway Station on January 6, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea. (credit:Chung Sung-Jun via Getty Images)
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People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test at a railroad station in Seoul on January 6, 2016. (credit:JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images)
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People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test at a railroad station in Seoul on January 6, 2016. South Korea 'strongly' condemned North Korea's shock hydrogen bomb test and vowed to take 'all necessary measures' to penalise its nuclear-armed neighbour. (credit:JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images)
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Kuo Kai-wen, director of Taiwan's Seismology Center, points at the locations from a monitor showing North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test site, in Taipei on January 6, 2016. (credit:SAM YEH via Getty Images)
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Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L) listens to US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (R) during their talks at the foreign ministry in Tokyo on January 6, 2016 following North Korea's nuclear test. (credit:TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA via Getty Images)
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at the Lower House's plenary session following a North Korean nuclear test, at the National Diet in Tokyo on January 6, 2016. (credit:YOSHIKAZU TSUNO via Getty Images)
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Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L) shows the way to US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (R) prior to their talks at the foreign ministry in Tokyo on January 6, 2016 following North Korea's nuclear test. (credit:TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA via Getty Images)
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Chinese paramilitary policemen stand guard outside the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard outside the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Shoppers stand near TV screens which report that North Korea said it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, at an electronics store in Tokyo, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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People watch a TV news program showing North Korea's announcement, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)