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Japan Warns of Escalating Propaganda War Between Seoul and Pyongyang

© AFP 2023 / YONHAPSouth Korean soldier stands guard in front of loudspeakers as the military prepares propaganda broadcasts near the border area between South Korea and North Korea in Yeoncheon, northeast of Seoul, on January 8, 2016
South Korean soldier stands guard in front of loudspeakers as the military prepares propaganda broadcasts near the border area between South Korea and North Korea in Yeoncheon, northeast of Seoul, on January 8, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Japanese Defense Minister said that Japan fears an aggravation of the standoff between North and South Korea after the South's resumption of cross-border propaganda broadcasting directed at its Northern neighbor.

People watch a news report on North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test at a railroad station in Seoul on January 6, 2016. - Sputnik International
UK, Japanese Defense Set to Boost Cooperation Amid DPRK Nuclear Activity
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Japan fears an aggravation of the standoff between North and South Korea after the South's resumption of cross-border propaganda broadcasting directed at its Northern neighbor, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Saturday.

"There is a possibility of a repeated escalation of tensions between the North and the South Koreas. Japan's Defense Ministry continues to carefully monitor the unfolding situation on the Korean peninsula," Nakatani told reporters.

On Friday, South Korea resumed operating its propaganda broadcasting loudspeakers situated near the Korean Demilitarized Zone and directed at the DPRK. Despite a mutual 2004 agreement to switch off propaganda loudspeakers, a mid-2015 restart of broadcasting by South Korea led to an escalation of hostilities between the two sides. In August 2015, the two countries exchanged artillery fire, while North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un declared a quasi-state of war. The situation was later de-escalated on conditions of halting propaganda broadcasts.

With a 24-kilometer (15-mile) range, South Korea's loudspeakers cover the DMZ as well as the DPRK's near-border civilian areas. South Korea's decision to resume propaganda came after the North's alleged January 5 hydrogen bomb test. While South Korean intelligence has expressed doubts over the test's authenticity, the incident provoked international condemnation and prompted the UN Security Council to discuss new anti-DPRK measures.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, having earlier withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The UN resolutions 1718 and 1814 urge Pyongyang to refrain from nuclear tests and reengage in talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

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