South Korea unleashed a high-decibel propaganda barrage across its border with North Korea on Friday 8 January in retaliation for its nuclear test, a step that has angered the isolated North in the past. The date also marks the birthday of Kim Jung-un, the 33-year-old totalitarian dictator of the state.

Along with the propaganda messages, South Korea has also blasted out music across the border. The up-beat K-pop hit "Bang, Bang, Bang" by the band Big Bang was one of songs to feature on the propaganda playlist. Giant banks of loudspeakers blasted these rather explicit lyrics:

"I'll set this place on fire
To burn up your heart
I wanna make you go crazy
B.I.G Yea we bang like this, everyone together


Nobody move, nobody move
Nobody move, nobody move
Let's see the end of this night, see the end
Let's see the end of this night
Bang bang bang."

South Korea did not confirm that the songs for the playlist were chosen with the intention of sending any underlying message to Pyongyang and has argued that it was merely a selection of the most recent and popular hits in the South.

The playlist was also made of Korean traditional and popular music, including the folk song "Arirang" which is famous and beloved on both sides of the border.

The South Korean broadcasts are still 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 2015 that wounded two South Korean soldiers, it led to an armed stand-off 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.

A male announcer could be heard from South Korea telling North Koreans that in the impoverished country Kim Jong-un and his wife wear clothes costing thousands of dollars. Another message said Kim's policy to boost both the economy and its nuclear programme was unrealistic.