North, South Korea “At The Brink Of War” As Loudspeaker Dispute Spirals Out Of Control (Again)
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
01/09/2016
Back in August, the Korean Peninsula nearly plunged back into war when Kim Jong-Un reached his limit with the anti-North propaganda being blasted across the DMZ by loudspeakers installed by the South.
For those who missed it, or for anyone in need of a refresher, here’s our account of what happened:
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un – the world’s sabre rattler par excellence – doesn’t like to stray too far from the spotlight when it comes to global conflict, which is why we weren’t terribly surprised when, a few days ago, the pariah state threatened to invade the US mainland and use “weapons unknown to the world.”
Of course a lot of what goes on inside the country is “unknown to the world”, much as the world is largely “unknown” to North Koreans and that’s just fine with Kim, whose regime depends on a combination of propaganda and censorship to keep the populace transfixed in a perpetual state of hypnotic hero worship. Of course the West and its allies – and now even China – have a tendency to dismiss Kim’s threats as the ravings of a delusional child, which is why occasionally, Pyongyang will actually fire a missile into the ocean or execute a member of the military top brass with an anti-aircraft gun just to remind everyone that the regime isn’t totally bluffing.
Given Pyongyang’s propensity for lobbing bombastic threats that, were they to emanate from virtually any other government on the planet would be met with a sharp rebuke, it’s something of a miracle that sour relations between Kim and US ally South Korea haven’t already produced an armed conflict. That may be about to change because as Bloomberg reports, the “maiming” of two South Korean soldiers along the DMZ and subsequent “blaring of propaganda through loudspeakers” by the South culminated in the exchange of artillery fire, marking the worst escalation between the two countries in five years.
In short, the South blamed the North for planting mines that injured soldiers and in response, persisted in the broadcasting of propaganda.
Subsequently, The North threatened to “blow up” the speakers and eventually took a pot shot at one. Next came the artillery exchange and shortly thereafter, Kim declared a state of war.
Tensions eventually eased in what Kim hailed as a kind of diplomatic victory for Pyongyang.
The Rest…HERE
