SEOUL, October 22: North Korea has announced plans to resume anti-South Korea propaganda broadcasts along the heavily militarised border, raising tensions between the two countries following recent landmine explosions that injured three South Korean frontline soldiers.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, announced the move after visiting frontline areas where North Korean troops are strengthening border defences. She also warned of retaliation against any South Korean actions that Pyongyang considers a threat to its territory or military personnel.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Kim said North Korea would place additional countermeasures on alert and prepare its loudspeakers for operation along the border within October.
North Korea has intensified fortification work along the frontier, installing landmines, barbed-wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other defensive structures. Kim described these efforts as part of her brother’s policy of permanently severing ties with South Korea, which Pyongyang has designated as its principal adversary.
Kim also warned that North Korean border troops would respond firmly if South Korean warning shots endangered their personnel or territorial security.
Responding to the announcement, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said Seoul would consider proportionate measures in response to North Korea’s actions along the border but did not provide further details.
The latest tensions follow explosions on September 21 that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul, citing an inspection conducted with the US-led United Nations Command, blamed landmines allegedly planted by North Korea and called on Pyongyang to apologise and remove remaining mines. North Korea has denied responsibility.
South Korea’s military has also accused North Korean troops of repeatedly crossing the Military Demarcation Line while carrying out fortification work. Pyongyang has rejected the allegations, describing them as a pretext for South Korean provocations.
Propaganda loudspeakers have long been used by both countries as a psychological warfare tactic during periods of heightened tensions. South Korea suspended its broadcasts after President Lee Jae Myung took office last year in an effort to improve relations, and North Korea subsequently halted its own broadcasts.
The planned resumption signals renewed friction as diplomatic engagement between Pyongyang and Seoul remains stalled.
