South Korea blasts loudspeaker broadcasts at the North

STORY: :: South Korean Defense Ministry

:: Released June 9, 2024

South Korean military said it resumed loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea on Sunday (June 9) after Pyongyang sent more balloons carrying trash into the South.

In a video provided by the military on Sunday, trucks were shown carrying loudspeakers and soldiers assembling them in a training exercise.

The military said it was the first such training since 2018.

The location and date of the training were not disclosed.

::File

The decision to resume the broadcasts, as a form of psychological warfare, was made after North Korea began launching about 330 balloons with trash attached a day before…

…with about 80 of them dropping over the border.

That’s according to South Korea’s military.

South Korea’s broadcasts include world news and information about democratic and capitalist society with a mix of popular K-pop music. The sound is believed to travel more than 12 miles into North Korea.

Kim Soo-Kyung is a South Korean presidential spokesperson.

“The measures we will take may be unbearable for the North Korean regime but they will send a message of hope and light to the North’s troops and its people.”

::File

Pyongyang started sending balloons carrying trash and manure across the border in May.

It has said the move was in retaliation for anti-North leaflets flown by South Korean activists as part of a propaganda campaign.

North Korea has shown some of the angriest reactions towards the leaflet campaign and the loudspeaker broadcasts, in some cases firing weapons at the balloons and speakers.

South Korea stopped the broadcasts under an agreement signed by the two Korea’s leaders in 2018 but tensions have mounted since then as Pyongyang pushed ahead with weapons development.