Pyongyang: Korean peninsula on 'brink of war'
January 9, 2016
North Korea on Saturday warned that South Korea's move to continue blasting high-decibel propaganda into the country was pushing the Korean Peninsula "toward the brink of war."
"The United States and its puppets have wasted no time in driving the situation on the peninsula to the brink of war, resuming their psychological warfare broadcast," said Kim Ki Nam, a senior official in North Korea's ruling party.
South Korea on Friday resumed cross-border broadcasts via loudspeakers after five months, following Pyongyang's announcement that it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test.
In August, Seoul recommenced propaganda broadcasts at the tense North-South border in retaliation for land mines that were set off, maiming two South Korean soldiers.
The situation deescalated after marathon talks, prompting the South to cease the cross-border audio transmissions.
However, Pyongyang's announcement of its purported fourth nuclear test on Wednesday has put the South on edge, prompting the South to once again broadcast K-pop music, news and weather bulletins alongside criticism of the North's ruling regime.
"We hope that our fellow Koreans in the North will be able to live as soon as possible in a society that doesn't invade individual lives," said a female presenter in parts of the broadcast revealed to South Korean media.
"Countries run by dictatorships even try to control human instincts," the presenter added.
South Korean officials said that the broadcasts can travel about 10 kilometers (6 miles) during the day, and 24 kilometers at night through the loudspeakers.
Meanwhile, UN Security Council members are mulling possible sanctions against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime.
ls/cmk (AP, AFP)