Tension builds along border
By Jun Ji-hyeTension is building along the inter-Korean border as the South is beefing up military readiness in response to last week’s mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) blamed on the North.The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday troops along the border are on high alert to ensure an immediate response to any additional provocations by North Korean troops.The South Korean military resumed loudspeaker propaganda broadcasting Monday, after having not done so for 11 years, as the first step in retaliation against the North for the land mines that maimed two South Korean soldiers. When the South announced a plan to resume the propaganda broadcasting in 2010 as part of a psychological warfare program in the wake of the North’s deadly torpedoing of the South Korean Navy frigate Cheonan, the North threatened to shoot at the loudspeakers. The broadcasting did not resume at that time.Defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters that South Korean forces will take immediate action, including firing at anyone in the North who shoots at the loudspeak
