Bizarre psychological warfare using K-pop and trash balloons raises tensions between the 2 Koreas

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has started blaring propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at border areas in retaliation for the North sending over trash-carrying balloons. The South Korean broadcasts reportedly included K-pop sensation BTS’s mega-hits like “Butter” and “Dynamite,” weather forecasts and news on its biggest company, Samsung, as well as outside criticism of the North’s missile program. North Korea has reinstalled its own propaganda loudspeakers near the border, but as of Tuesday morning, it hasn’t switched them on. Experts say the rivals’ Cold War-style yet bizarre psychological campaigns are raising worries about possible clashes between the two countries.