North Korea demands South halt loudspeaker broadcasts, threatens action

By Tony Munroe SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Saturday demanded that the South halt anti-North propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers along the border or face military action, a day after it denied Seoul's accusation that it planted landmines that wounded two South Korean soldiers. Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated since the landmine explosion last week and as the U.S. and South Korean militaries prepare to begin annual joint exercises. South Korea has threatened counter-measures and on Monday began using loudspeakers to blare anti-Pyongyang rhetoric across the border, resuming broadcasts that had been suspended since 2004.