[Anchor]

We will discuss more North Korea-related issues with reporter Kim Ayeong.

Reporter Kim, Kim Yo-jong, North Korea's General Affairs Department Director, had warned of restarting loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South within this month. Did they actually turn them on?

[Reporter]

There were claims from residents in the border area that they heard faint singing and noise at one point today.

However, the Joint Chiefs of Staff explained that "no operation of North Korea's loudspeakers targeting South Korea has been confirmed."

The National Intelligence Service also stated that it determined the report to be false.

On October 21, Kim Yo-jong had said that North Korea would put the loudspeakers into operational status within October.

Although there was a brief commotion, it is assessed that North Korea has not yet begun full-scale loudspeaker broadcasts.

Since time remains, we will have to wait and see whether North Korea resumes or puts the loudspeaker broadcasts on hold.

Looking at past remarks by Kim Yo-jong, there were indeed occasions where she hinted at actions in advance and subsequently went ahead with specific measures.

That was the case with the 2020 demolition of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong and the 2024 launches of trash-carrying balloons.

Conversely, there were also times when things did not go according to Kim Yo-jong's statements.

In 2020, Kim Yo-jong even warned of military action against South Korea, but at that time, General Secretary Kim Jong-un abruptly put the plan on hold.

[Anchor]

Residents in the border area must be quite anxious, and in the midst of this, a lot of fake information has also surfaced?

[Reporter]

NK News, a U.S. media outlet specializing in North Korea, reported that deepfakes showing North Korean soldiers and artillery are circulating.


This is the photo in question.

It appears to show people drinking coffee at a Starbucks store at Aegibong in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, while looking at North Korean troops from very close up, but such a scene is impossible in reality.

Our reporting team also visited Aegibong several times this week to cover the border atmosphere.

While it is true that North Korea is deliberately exposing its artillery, it is difficult to spot it immediately with the naked eye.

This is because, no matter how close to the border it may be, the distance is still over 1 kilometer.

It can only be identified in detail by zooming in with camera equipment, and our broadcast also aired footage captured through such equipment.

As demonstrated by past rumors surrounding the death of General Secretary Kim Jong-un, there is a clear need to filter out fake information.