Installation of Loudspeakers for North Korea Broadcast Resumed That Day
Powerful Psychological Warfare Tool... North Korea Likely to React
"Responsibility for Rising Inter-Korean Tensions Lies with North Korea"
Military facility in the border area of Paju, Gyeonggi-do, where the existing loudspeakers for broadcasts to North Korea were located [Image source=Yonhap News]
The government has decided to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea, a measure that North Korea is highly sensitive about, in response to North Korea's resumption of 'filth balloon' dispersal.
The Presidential Office announced on the morning of the 9th that it held an emergency Standing Committee meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Jang Ho-jin, Director of the National Security Office, and decided to install and operate loudspeakers toward North Korea within the day.
The Presidential Office stated, "Although the measures we are taking may be unbearable for the North Korean regime, they will deliver messages of light and hope to the North Korean military and civilians," adding, "We make it clear that the responsibility for any escalation of tensions between the South and the North lies entirely with North Korea."
It further emphasized, "The government will maintain a firm and thorough readiness posture against any provocations from North Korea," and "We will do our utmost to ensure the safety of our citizens and national security."
Previously, North Korea dispersed filth balloons toward South Korea twice, on the 28th-29th of last month and the 1st-2nd of this month, citing the distribution of leaflets by South Korea. Over 1,000 balloons were identified. The balloons contained filth and trash such as cigarette butts, waste paper, and plastic.
On the 9th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "North Korea has released about 330 propaganda balloons toward South Korea since the day before, and about 80 of them have fallen in our territory by this morning." The photos show the propaganda balloons found near Jamsil Bridge in Seoul (left), the sea off Incheon, Geumchon-dong in Paju, and a field in Inhuri, Icheon. [Image source=Yonhap News]
After temporarily halting the dispersal, North Korea resumed sending filth balloons on the 6th and 7th in response to South Korean defector groups releasing leaflets toward the North.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea released about 330 filth balloons by 10 a.m. that day. So far, about 80 have fallen in South Korean territory.
Following North Korea's filth balloon dispersal, the government suspended the entire effectiveness of the September 19 Military Agreement on the 4th through a Cabinet meeting and with President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval.
With the suspension of the September 19 Military Agreement, which prohibits hostile acts between the South and North, all restrictions on loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea and military exercises near the border area have been lifted.
Loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea are considered a powerful psychological warfare tool that North Korea is highly sensitive about. Fixed loudspeakers, when set to maximum output, are known to reach about 24 km at night and about 10 km during the day.
The songs, weather information, and news broadcast from the loudspeakers are analyzed to potentially cause psychological unrest among North Korean soldiers in the border area.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is applauding after awarding a certificate of merit to a national veteran at the 69th Memorial Day ceremony held at the National Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
There are 24 fixed and 16 mobile loudspeakers toward North Korea in the frontline area. The fixed loudspeakers had been stored in warehouses since the April 2018 Panmunjom Declaration and the September 19 Military Agreement, and the mobile ones were parked at nearby units but are now ready to be reactivated.
In his Memorial Day speech on the 6th, President Yoon described North Korea's recent provocations as "despicable methods" and emphasized, "The government will never tolerate such threats from North Korea. We will maintain an ironclad readiness posture and respond firmly and overwhelmingly to provocations."
At the NSC meeting that day, participants agreed that "any attempt to cause public anxiety and social confusion through North Korea's renewed filth balloon dispersal is unacceptable."
The meeting was attended by Director Jang Ho-jin, Secretary General Jeong Jin-seok, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol, Unification Minister Kim Young-ho, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong, Minister for Government Policy Coordination Bang Ki-seon, NSC Secretary-General Kim Tae-hyo, Deputy Director of the National Security Office In Sung-hwan, and Third Deputy Director Wang Yoon-jong.
The resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea is expected to heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has been highly sensitive to loudspeaker broadcasts, strongly demanding their suspension during inter-Korean talks. In 2015, during the Park Geun-hye administration, when loudspeaker broadcasts were resumed in response to North Korea's landmine provocations, North Korea retaliated with artillery fire on the western front.
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