"Loudspeakers Toward North Not Ruled Out": A Visit to the Border Region

 [Anchor]

North Korea's Kim Yo-jong threatened on October 19 that Pyongyang would consider resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South. South Korean military authorities also stated that if the North resumes its broadcasts, they would not rule out responding with loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North.

As tensions escalate along the border, residents' anxieties are also growing. Reporter Kim Ayeong visited the scene.

[Reporter]

This was the scene in Kaepung County, North Korea, on Tuesday afternoon, seen from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

SBS cameras captured tower-shaped loudspeaker installations stacked with multiple speakers aimed toward the South.

No broadcasts are currently being aired.

Last year, the South Korean government first suspended loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North as part of confidence-building measures.

In response, North Korea, which had been broadcasting noise toward the South, also turned off its speakers.

On October 19, Kim Yo-jong raised the prospect of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts, taking issue with our military's warning broadcasts and warning shots along the Military Demarcation Line.

This was interpreted as a warning to avoid interfering with what the North calls its "border fortification" project.

[Hong Min / Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification : They seem to be judging that they should focus as much as possible on the remaining workload before the winter season begins, and there appears to be considerable intent to exert pressure.]

Residents in the border area are already deeply worried.

North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South are designed to blast deafening noise to prevent North Korean residents and soldiers from hearing broadcasts from the South.

For residents who endured the agonizing noise for nearly a year starting in July 2024, it is a memory they never wish to revisit.

[Shin / Resident of Paju, Gyeonggi Province : Ghost-like noises kept blaring constantly. The children and people living nearby couldn't sleep. Daily life was ruined, and many talked about moving away. If they do that again? It will be truly unbearable to live here.]

The Ministry of National Defense expressed "grave concern" and stated that it would sternly retaliate should North Korea engage in further provocations.

[Jeong Bit-na / Defense Ministry Spokesperson : Warning broadcasts and warning shots are legitimate defensive measures intended to prevent North Korean forces from violating the Military Demarcation Line and to repel forces that have crossed.]

A Defense Ministry official noted that if North Korea resumes loudspeaker broadcasts, "Wouldn't we also need a proportional response?" adding that "no measures are being ruled out."

This indicates that the option of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North remains open, and should the North resume broadcasts followed by our military's countermeasures, tensions in the border region are bound to escalate.

Video by Park Hyeon-cheol | Video Editing by Jeong Seong-hun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.