Seoul vows propaganda broadcasts to N. Korea over mine blast

HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea vowed on Monday to resume propaganda broadcasts across the border with rival North Korea for the first time in 11 years in retaliation for the North allegedly planting land mines last week that maimed two South Korean soldiers.

If Seoul acts on its vow to pipe the anti-North Korean broadcasts on loudspeakers aimed across the world's most heavily armed border, it will worsen already terrible ties between the Koreas and infuriate the North, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of the authoritarian leadership of Kim Jong Un.

South Korea's military earlier Monday promised unspecified "searing" consequences for the mine blasts last week in the Seoul-controlled southern part of the Demilitarized Zone that has bisected the Korean Peninsula since the end of fighting in the Korean War in 1953. South Korea's military said the broadcasts planned Monday are only part of its response. It was unclear when the broadcasts would start or how long they would continue.

The U.S.-led U.N. Command also conducted an investigation that blamed North Korea for the mines. It condemned what it called violations of the armistice that ended fighting in the war, which still technically continues because the participants have yet to sign a peace treaty.

The soldiers were on a routine patrol near a wire fence in the southern side of the border when the explosions happened. One of the soldiers lost both legs, while the other lost one leg.