200,000 Anti-North Leaflets Dropped Again... North Korea "Hundredfold Retaliation"
Military to Immediately Operate Loudspeakers as Balloon Trash Resumes
North Wind from the 9th... Provocation Expected Despite Loudspeaker Warning
In a situation where the effectiveness of the 'September 19 Military Agreement' has been completely suspended due to North Korea's release of filth balloons, civilian leaflet distribution to North Korea has resumed. Attention is focused on whether North Korea will carry out the predicted 'retaliation.' Military authorities are closely monitoring the possibility of a surprise provocation by North Korea, timed with changes in wind direction.
According to related authorities on the 7th, the Free North Korea Movement Alliance distributed about 200,000 leaflets to North Korea around midnight on the previous day in the Pocheon area of Gyeonggi Province. The group stated, "Between 0 and 1 a.m. on the 6th, we sent 200,000 leaflets condemning Kim Jong-un's outrageous remark that 'the Republic of Korea is the immutable enemy' to North Korea using 10 advertising balloons," adding, "As long as Kim Jong-un does not apologize, we will continue to send leaflets to our beloved North Korean compatriots."
The Free North Korea Movement Alliance announced on the early morning of the 6th that it had additionally distributed 200,000 leaflets in the Pocheon area of Gyeonggi Province. The group claimed to have sent 200,000 leaflets, 5,000 USB drives containing videos of K-pop, the drama "Winter Sonata," trot music by Na Hoon-a and Lim Young-woong, and 2,000 one-dollar bills to North Korea using 10 large advertising balloons.
The group also said they sent 5,000 USB flash drives containing K-pop songs, songs by Na Hoon-a and Lim Young-woong, and videos of the drama 'Winter Sonata,' along with 2,000 one-dollar bills, attached to the advertising balloons. They had also distributed 300,000 leaflets on the 10th of last month.
North Korea reacted strongly against the leaflet distribution by civilian groups, releasing filth balloons and conducting GPS jamming attacks since the end of last month. Then, on the night of the 2nd, through a statement issued under the name of Kim Kang-il, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of National Defense, North Korea said, "We have given the South Koreans a thorough experience of how disgusting it is to pick up the scattered pieces of paper and how much effort it consumes," and announced a temporary suspension of filth balloon releases. However, they added a threat that if leaflets are found again, they would respond by intensively releasing a hundredfold amount of trash and filth.
Subsequently, the South Korean government fully suspended the effectiveness of the September 19 Military Agreement on the 4th in response to North Korea's provocations. Not only was the loudspeaker broadcasting system, which North Korea is most sensitive about, reactivated, but live-fire exercises and outdoor maneuver training around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) also became possible.
With North Korea having announced retaliation and additional leaflet distribution underway, tensions between the two Koreas are rising further. The government plans to immediately install and operate loudspeakers at the front line if North Korea resumes releasing filth balloons. Although full-scale loudspeaker installation has not yet been carried out, military authorities explained that 'mobile loudspeakers' can be operated anytime at locations connected by roads.
The Free North Korea Movement Alliance announced that it distributed an additional 200,000 leaflets over the Pocheon area in Gyeonggi Province in the early morning of the 6th. The group claimed to have sent 10 large advertising balloons to North Korea carrying 200,000 leaflets, 5,000 USB drives containing videos of K-POP, the drama "Winter Sonata," trot music by Na Hoon-a and Lim Young-woong, and 2,000 one-dollar bills. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The expected timing of North Korea's provocation is around the 9th, when the wind direction changes to a north wind (wind blowing from the north). However, since rain is forecast for this weekend, if weather conditions are unfavorable, North Korea may provoke in other ways. One scenario being discussed is maritime provocation, including artillery fire. North Korea declared the military agreement 'completely nullified' last November and fired 200 artillery shells into waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea in early January this year. At that time, the South Korean Marine Corps responded with 400 shells, twice the amount.
There is also speculation that if North Korea recklessly provokes or resumes releasing filth balloons, the South Korean government will fully reactivate the loudspeakers, so they may first observe the situation. The audible range of the loudspeaker systems secured by the South Korean military is 8?10 km for mobile units and 12?15 km for fixed units. When operated from the MDL, the sound can reach as far as Kaesong city. North Korea's MZ generation, known as the 'Jangmadang generation,' has low loyalty to the authorities and is vulnerable to the inflow of external information through psychological warfare. For North Korea, the operation of loudspeakers by the South Korean government is likely a situation they want to avoid.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, "We are currently closely monitoring signs of North Korean provocations."
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