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 The broadcasts, in rolling bursts from walls of loudspeakers at 11
locations along the heavily militarized border, blared rhetoric
critical of the Pyongyang regime as well as "K-pop" music,
ratcheting up tension between the rival Koreas.
North Korea later responded with its own broadcasts.
South Korea, which has grown increasingly close to China in recent
years, also said its foreign minister would speak with his Chinese
counterpart later on Friday.
Wednesday's nuclear test angered both the United States and China,
which was not given prior notice, although the U.S. government and
weapons experts doubt Pyongyang's claim that the device it set off
was a hydrogen bomb.
China is North Korea's main economic and diplomatic backer, although
relations between the Cold War allies have cooled in recent years.
China's Foreign Ministry urged North Korea to stick to its
decentralization pledges and avoid action that would make the
situation worse, but also said China did not hold the key to
resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.
 "Achieving decentralization of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding
the peninsula's peace and stability accords with all parties' mutual
interests, is the responsibility of all parties, and requires all
parties to put forth efforts," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying
told a news briefing.
The North agreed to end its nuclear program in international
negotiations in 2005 but later walked away from the deal.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he had made
clear in a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that
China's approach to North Korea had not succeeded.
"China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we
agreed and respected to give them space to implement that," Kerry
told reporters. "Today, in my conversation with the Chinese, I made
it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as
usual."
South Korea's nuclear safety agency said it found a miniscule amount
of xenon gas in a sample from off its east coast, which could be the
first chemical evidence of a nuclear test, but said more analysis
and samples were needed to determine if it came from a nuclear test.
The presence of xenon would not indicate whether the blast was from
a hydrogen device or not.
Seismic waves created by the blast were almost identical to those
generated in North Korea's last nuclear test in 2013, Jeffrey Park,
a seismologist at Yale University, wrote in a post on the Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists website, adding to scepticism about the
hydrogen bomb claim.
TROOPS DEPLOYED, TOURS CANCELED
The South Korean broadcasts are considered an insult by the isolated
North which has in the past threatened military strikes to stop
them.
The last time South Korea deployed the loudspeakers, in retaliation
for a landmine blast in August that wounded two South Korean
soldiers, it led to an armed standoff and exchange of artillery
fire.
The sound from the speakers can carry for 10 km (6 miles) into North
Korea during the day and more than twice that at night, the South's
Yonhap news agency reported.
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A male announcer could be heard from South Korea telling North
Koreans that Kim Jong Un, the leader of their impoverished country,
and his wife wear clothes costing thousands of dollars. Another
message said Kim's policy to boost both the economy and its nuclear
program was unrealistic.
The North broadcasts were not clearly audible from the South and
appeared intended to drown out those from the South, Yonhap said,
citing a South Korean official.
North Korea boosted troop deployments in front-line units on Friday,
and South Korea raised its military readiness to the highest level
at locations near the loudspeakers.
The South vowed to retaliate against any attack on the equipment,
raised its cyber security alert and canceled tours of the
Demilitarized Zone on the border.
U.S. Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives could
join forces in a rare display of unity to tighten sanctions on North
Korea.
Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, told reporters that
Democrats would support a North Korea bill likely to be brought for
a vote by Republicans next week. A congressional source said it was
expected as soon as Monday.
It was unclear how more sanctions would deter North Korea, which has
conducted four nuclear tests since 2006.
The United States and South Korea are limited in their military
response. Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth
bombers over South Korea in a show of force after North Korea last
tested a nuclear device in 2013.
North Korea responded then by threatening a nuclear strike on the
United States.
A South Korean military official said Seoul and Washington had
discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean
peninsula, but declined to give details. Media said the assets could
include B-2 and B-52 bombers, and a nuclear-powered submarine.
(Additional reporting by James Pearson, Se Young Lee, Christine Kim,
Jee Heun Kahng, Ju-min Park and Jack Kim in SEOUL, Dagyum Ji in
GIMPO, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu and Arshad
Mohammed in WASHINGTON, and Tim Kelly in YOKOSUKA; Writing by Tony
Munroe; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
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