North Korean Troops Perch on Howitzers, 'Conspicuously' Rotating Barrels Toward South

[Anchor]

Our cameras have captured North Korea forward-deploying self-propelled artillery toward the south on the western frontline. Amid North Korea's announcement that it will resume anti-South loudspeaker broadcasts within this month and reinforce firepower along the Military Demarcation Line, analysts suggest this is a show-of-force demonstration intended to put on a display.

Kim Minjun reports for our top story.

[Reporter]

This is the coastal area of Gaepung County, Hwanghae Province in North Korea, as seen from the Aegibong Observatory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.

It is an area just about 1.5 kilometers away from North Korea, with only the Han River in between.

Two North Korean soldiers are sitting atop a self-propelled howitzer, on which the slogan, "Annihilate the American imperialist aggressors, the sworn enemy of the Korean people!" is inscribed in white lettering.

Using the howitzer as a bench, they stretch out their legs and chat with each other, while the artillery barrel is also observed slowly moving left and right, and up and down.

The piece is presumed to be the North Korean military's "122mm self-propelled howitzer" with a maximum range of 24 kilometers, a key artillery asset heavily deployed along the front line.

About three North Korean self-propelled howitzers positioned close to the riverbank are clearly visible.

While troops have often been spotted constructing tactical roads or barbed-wire fences, analysts note that exposing self-propelled artillery in this manner is unusual.

Sending out artillery weapons—which should ordinarily conceal their positions—in a virtually defenseless state where they can be captured by South Korean cameras is analyzed as a show-of-force demonstration aimed at stoking tensions.

[Yang Uk / Research Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies: "Rather than an 'increase in firepower,' it is about 'making firepower visible.' If an actual armed clash were imminent, there would be a stronger effort not to expose themselves; they wouldn't reveal themselves like that."]

With North Korea having announced plans to resume loudspeaker broadcasts against South Korea within this month, border residents are growing increasingly anxious over the appearance of self-propelled artillery.

[Kim Yoo-sung / Resident of Ganghwa County, Incheon: "When that booming roar goes off, it sounds like a ghost wailing. In winter, keeping the doors shut makes it somewhat quieter, but in the summer, nobody can sleep with their doors closed."]

Concerns are also mounting over the fact that explosive sounds from the North Korean military detected near Ganghwa County, Incheon, have reached around 900 instances so far this year.

[Resident of Ganghwa County, Incheon: "It is extremely loud, sounding like cannons firing. It startles us. We jokingly ask, 'Are they invading?'"]

Today (October 26), residents of the Paju border area held a press conference opposing mutual slander through loudspeakers and military confrontation.

Camera by Yang Jihoon | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.