North Korea suspended loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea on Thursday. The move came a day after Seoul halted propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers, South Korean media reported.
Propaganda war
On Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts along the border with North Korea in an attempt to reduce tensions and restore trust. As a result, the military stopped the broadcasts at 2 p.m. local time.
“There are currently no areas where such broadcasts (from the DPRK) have been detected. They stopped late on Wednesday evening and were apparently not carried out during the night or in the morning,” said Colonel Lee Sung‑jun of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “But we are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including the possible resumption of broadcasts during the day.”
South Korea’s decision to suspend the broadcasts came a year after the military resumed the campaign for the first time in six years in June last year in response to North Korea’s launches of balloons carrying rubbish across the border.
The decision to stop propaganda broadcasts to North Korea was the first move against Pyongyang by South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, who was elected after the impeachment of former head of state Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon was removed from office earlier this year after a failed attempt to impose martial law.
During his election campaign, Lee promised to stop the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tension and discomfort for South Koreans living in border towns. In recent months, these residents have complained about retaliatory broadcasts from North Korea, including animal cries, gong sounds and other irritating noises.
At a briefing on Monday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry also called on South Korean civil activists to stop distributing anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities, according to ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam, “could heighten tensions on the Korean peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas.”
The confrontation between North and South
Between May and November last year, North Korea launched around 7,000 balloons towards South Korea. They contained a variety of items, including waste paper, fabric scraps, cigarette butts and even manure.
Pyongyang said its balloon campaign began after South Korean activists sent balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets and USB sticks containing popular South Korean songs and dramas.
One of the bags of rubbish that flew in from the North landed on the South Korean presidential complex in July. This raised concerns about the vulnerability of key facilities in the Republic of Korea.
In January 2024, Kim Jong Un reacted fiercely to Yoon’s policy, stating that he was abandoning the long-standing goal of peaceful reunification with the South. He also ordered that South Korea be enshrined in the DPRK Constitution as the “eternal main enemy.”
