海角大神

North Korea will continue to receive a barrage of K-pop and news from the South, which vowed Monday to continue airing propaganda as high-level talks aimed at resolving the current crisis stretched into their third day.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said she would not switch off the loudspeakers 鈥� the North had issued a Saturday 5 p.m. deadline 鈥� unless the North apologized for an Aug. 4 land mine explosion that injured two border guards earlier this month.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility for the incident. On Aug. 20, it fired four shells into the South, and vowed to attack the loudspeakers.聽Both sides have accused the other of behavior that could lead to further attacks or invasion.聽

Although the propaganda broadcasts may seem insubstantial, North Korea describes them as a serious provocation. For the last 11 years, they had been turned off.聽

The Los Angeles Times explains:聽

In response, Pyongyang has deployed more artillery, submarines, and troops in the border region in what The New York Times called a bid to 鈥渋ncrease its leverage.鈥� Among the military systems deployed are amphibious landing craft that would play a key role in any invasion.

South Korea鈥檚 Yonhap News Agency referred to the the amphibious craft as "infiltration vehicles,鈥� insinuating that Pyongyang was setting itself up for a land invasion.聽

While North Korea has long been known for taking maximalist rhetorical stances, the South under President Park has also begun to take tougher positions, according to the Times. Although critics from the pro-engagement camp in South Korea accuse Park of pushing the North towards 鈥渞eckless steps,鈥� her approval ratings have increased 鈥� up to聽41 percent last week, Reuters reports. 聽

The Associated Press writes that Seoul 鈥渃an鈥檛 afford to walk away with a weak agreement鈥� after vowing to end the 鈥渧icious cycle鈥� of provocations from the North.聽Pyongyang also needs to show it is standing up to its enemy, according to the AP. But it is outmatched militarily by the combined might of the South Korean and US militaries.聽

The last direct attack on the South was in 2010, when shelling from the North on Yeonpyeong Island killed two South Korean soldiers and two civilians. Feelings in the South are also raw over a naval vessel that sank in March 2010, killing 46 sailors, and for which the South blamed the North after a full investigation. 聽

Officially, North and South Korea have remained in a state-of-war since the Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce, not a treaty.