[Anchor]

North Korea previously announced on October 21 that it would resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea within this month. Now, only one day remains until the announced deadline. Let's head to the border region.

Reporter Kim Min-jun, have any movements to resume loudspeaker broadcasts been detected? 

[Reporter]

Yes, this is Daedong-ri Village in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

At its closest point, it is only about 1 kilometer away from North Korea.

Through our camera, we were able to spot North Korea's loudspeakers aimed at the South, stacked eight tiers high.

However, North Korea has not yet resumed broadcasting.

[Anchor]

In the past, North Korea blasted roars and ghost-like noises, causing great distress to our residents. Are similar patterns expected this time as well?

[Reporter]

Yes, this is the sound of North Korea's broadcast toward the South covered by SBS two years ago. Let's listen.

[Resident of Daedong-ri, Paju, Gyeonggi Province: The moment you hear that sound, you instantly feel uncomfortable. My mother is eighty years old and was suffering, and because of that noise, she even moved to an apartment (in another area) to live for a while.]

The main purpose is to make listeners uncomfortable while simultaneously interfering with our broadcasts toward North Korea.

[Anchor]

Now that night has fallen, should we see the likelihood of broadcasts resuming today (October 30) as having decreased?

[Reporter]

Yes, but because there were cases in the past where they broadcast after 9 p.m., we need to watch the situation a bit longer.

However, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official noted Kim Yo-jong's phrasing about entering an "operational state."

The official interpreted this as not definitively meaning that North Korea would broadcast within October.

The explanation is that an "operational state" could mean resumption, but it could also mean a state of being ready to turn them on at any time.

While North Korea took actual action when launching trash balloons in 2024, in 2020 it took no action after announcing military action against South Korea.

Yesterday (October 29), some residents in border areas reported that they thought they heard North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts, but authorities initially concluded they were false alarms.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, however, that maintenance work on the North's loudspeakers has continued recently and that it is closely monitoring the situation.

(Video by Kim Hangyul | Video Editing by Wi Won-yang)