Scheduled to operate from 6 AM to 10 PM on the 20th
Straight distance 30km... Reception possible even in Kaesong
Military authorities have been operating loudspeakers in the frontline area, a psychological warfare tool against North Korea, for the third consecutive day. According to military sources on the 20th, the military plans to operate the loudspeakers for 16 hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. that day.
The scene of the loudspeakers installed on the western front for broadcasting to North Korea being dismantled in June 2004. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Fixed loudspeakers deployed along the western, central, and eastern fronts will broadcast according to time slots depending on the region, and morning broadcasts have been added starting this day to deliver messages not only to North Korean soldiers working near the border but also to residents near the MDL.
Previously, on the 18th, in response to North Korea’s release of filth balloons toward the South, the military operated some of the fixed loudspeakers deployed on the western front for 10 hours. Additionally, on the previous day, the loudspeakers were operated for 6 hours from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The military’s policy is to continue operating the loudspeakers until North Korea stops releasing filth balloons. If North Korea continues to release filth balloons or commits other provocations, the military plans to gradually expand the operation of the loudspeakers.
North Korea has sent balloons containing filth and garbage a total of eight times from May 28 to the early morning of the 19th of this month, using the pretext of South Korean civilian groups distributing leaflets to the North.
In response, on the 9th of last month, the military temporarily resumed loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North, which had been suspended since the Panmunjom Declaration in April 2018, following North Korea’s filth balloon releases. However, the military had restrained from loudspeaker countermeasures while urging a change in North Korea’s attitude.
However, as North Korea’s filth balloon releases continued, the military decided to resume broadcasts after warning North Korea about the loudspeaker resumption.
The loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North first began in 1963 during the Park Chung-hee administration and have been repeatedly suspended and resumed depending on inter-Korean relations. They were suspended for 41 years following a South-North military agreement during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004 but were temporarily resumed during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations in response to North Korean provocations such as the Cheonan ship sinking (2010), landmine provocations (2015), and North Korea’s 4th nuclear test (2016).
There are 24 fixed loudspeakers installed in the frontline area, and 16 mobile units are also available. The loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North retransmit the psychological warfare broadcast “Voice of Freedom,” which includes news and K-pop, through the loudspeakers.
The loudspeaker broadcasts using high-power speakers can be heard at distances ranging from 10 to 30 km depending on the equipment and time. They can be heard not only by frontline troops but also in Kaesong, which is 30 km away in a straight line.
This broadcast reportedly includes news about the recent defection of a North Korean diplomat and messages directed at North Korean soldiers in the frontline area urging them to “escape from a hellish life of slavery.”
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