North Korea Releases Filth Balloons... Countermeasures via Propaganda Broadcasts [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Military Conducts Loudspeaker Broadcasts for Two Days in Gyeonggi-do Frontline Area
Eight Responses This Year Alone to Trash Balloon Dispersal

Our military has activated loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea. This action was taken in response to North Korea sending trash balloons into South Korea again despite repeated warnings from our government.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated in a text message distributed to the press corps, "As we have sternly warned multiple times about North Korea's continuous release of trash balloons, from last night until early this morning, loudspeaker broadcasts were conducted in the areas where the trash balloons were buoyed."

The military estimates that about 200 trash balloons were sent by North Korea, with around 40 of them falling in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province. In response, loudspeaker broadcasts were conducted from a frontline unit in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province. The broadcasts targeted the original area where North Korea released the trash balloons from the frontline region of South Hwanghae Province. Upon identifying North Korea's release of trash balloons toward the South, the military immediately prepared to operate the loudspeakers and ran the broadcasts for about 10 hours from around 6 p.m. yesterday to 4-5 a.m. today. This is five times longer than the 2-hour broadcast conducted on the 9th of last month.

The military's loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea were activated for the first time in 39 days since the last operation on the 9th of last month. Although North Korea released additional trash balloons toward the South four times, our military had suspended loudspeaker broadcasts to "allow North Korea a period of self-restraint."

Currently, the frontline corps consists of 11 divisions. Each division is equipped with 2 to 3 fixed loudspeakers, totaling 24 units. There are also 16 mobile (maneuverable) loudspeakers mounted on 2.5-ton military trucks. Both mobile and fixed loudspeakers were reportedly used in this broadcast. The broadcasts, known as the psychological warfare broadcast "Voice of Freedom," reportedly included content informing North Korean residents about the realities of the Kim Jong-un regime. The broadcast range is approximately 10 to 30 kilometers.

North Korea released trash balloons toward the South on the afternoon of the previous day. This was North Korea's eighth release of trash balloons toward the South, occurring 22 days after the last release on the 26th of last month. It is reported that hundreds of trash balloons were buoyed again, containing pieces of paper cut into specific shapes and sizes.