Jane Onyanga-Omara

USA TODAY

South Korea blasted anti-North Korea propaganda along its border with the reclusive nation Friday, sending a mixture of K-Pop music, denunciation of the North’s nuclear program and criticism of leader Kim Jong Un.

The South had stopped the broadcasts in August as part of a deal to defuse tensions, but they restarted earlier this week after the North claimed it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb two days ago, drawing widespread international condemnation and skepticism.

North Korea considers the broadcasts an act of war, and the fresh propaganda against Kim could further inflame the country since Friday was believed to be the leader's 33rd birthday.

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In one of the broadcasts, an announcer said: "The nuclear test is making North Korea more isolated and turning it into the land of death," according to Reuters.

In another, an announcer declared: "Clothes for Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju (Kim’s wife) cost tens of thousands dollars each and her purse is worth thousands of dollars too," Reuters reported.

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Songs from South Korean K-Pop acts including GFriend, a female group that found fame when its members fell multiple times on stage, and Lee Ae-ran, a singer who rose from obscurity last year with a song about living for 100 years, were among those blared from loudspeakers, the Associated Press reported.

Other songs played included "Just Let Us Love" by a popular female group Apink and "Bang Bang Bang" by boyband Big Bang, according to the AP.

North Koreans are prohibited from listening to K-Pop because they're only allowed to listen to government-controlled TV and radio stations, but defectors from the North say South Korean music is popular and illicitly smuggled in on USB sticks and DVDs, AP reported.

Speaking during a visit to Japan on Friday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond asked South Korea to halt the broadcasts.

"We have to be bigger than the North Koreans,” he said. “We know responding in this way is simply rising to the bait North Korea is presenting to us."

China, the North’s main ally, urged "all sides" to remain calm and show restraint, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

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The United Nations Security Council pledged Wednesday to pursue new sanctions against North Korea at an emergency meeting on the reported test. The North’s claim to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, which is larger and more complex than an atomic bomb, has been met with widespread skepticism. It could be several weeks before a conclusive determination is made.

Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers and civilians gathered at various venues in Pyongyang for celebrations of the test Friday, with people dancing in the streets during the state-organized festivities, AP reported.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the House will soon take up legislation that would impose stiffer penalties on countries that do business with North Korea, a move that would hit China the hardest.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday said that China holds no "key" to curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Yonhap reported. The country is North Korea’s biggest trading partner, providing it with food and fuel, and this week joined the United States in supporting a U.N. resolution condemning the test.