Noise Terror Day and Night Continues for 3 Weeks... "Please Save Us"
Strong Calls for Tough Measures Against North Korean Leaflet Distribution Causing Crisis in Border Areas
Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju City held a mobile mayor's office on the 18th with residents of the Demilitarized Zone villages in the Jangdan-myeon area to listen to the actual damage experienced by the residents. On the 18th, Paju City in Gyeonggi Province held a mobile mayor's office meeting with residents of villages near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Jangdan-myeon to listen to the increasingly severe damages suffered by residents due to the escalating military tensions around the inter-Korean border area and to seek countermeasures.
Earlier, on the 11th, Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju had planned to visit Daeseong-dong Village, which has been suffering massive noise damage from North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South that intensified from late September. However, the visit was canceled due to a denial of entry. Consequently, Paju City shifted the venue to Imjingak and decided to hold the mobile mayor's office event in the form of an emergency meeting.
At the mobile mayor's office held at the civil defense shelter in Imjingak, about 30 residents from MDL villages located at the forefront of the Demilitarized Zone, including Daeseong-dong Village in Josan-ri, Tongil Village in Baekyeon-ri, and Haemaru Village in Dongpa-ri, attended.
Since the beginning of this year, the Paju border area has seen heightened tensions due to North Korea's release of waste balloons in response to leaflets distributed by North Korean defector groups, the resumption of South Korean military loudspeaker broadcasts, and North Korea's subsequent resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South.
During the mobile mayor's office, residents voiced numerous appeals about the severe suffering caused by North Korea's recent intensified noise broadcasts. According to the residents, the loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South, which have continued for over 20 days since the 28th of last month, are the loudest they have ever heard. They reported hearing chilling sounds day and night, including animal cries such as foxes, wild dogs, and crows, as well as noises like scraping metal and machinery running, causing most residents to suffer from insomnia and neurosis.
A woman in her mid-70s said, “Due to North Korea's noise attacks, daily life has become impossible. The nonstop noise makes it impossible to even have a conversation with the person next to me or get a night's sleep. Taking sleeping pills and sedatives doesn't help, and wearing earplugs caused my ears to become inflamed.” She tearfully appealed, “Anyone should come and spend just one night here. It is so painful and agonizing. Please save us.”
Another resident said, “I have lived in Daeseong-dong Village for over 50 years since marrying here, and I have never had a single comfortable day, but this year has been the hardest.” She added, “The bigger pain is that there is no sign of the situation improving.”
The residents raised their voices that one of the most urgent solutions is to block the leaflet distribution activities by North Korean defector groups, which have caused the current crisis. Lee Wan-bae, head of Tongil Village, questioned, “They talk about freedom of expression for defectors and human rights for North Korean residents, but do MDL residents have no human rights?” He criticized the government's lukewarm response, saying, “North Korea threatens to strike back if leaflets fly over. Do they want a war?”
The damage to residents in the Paju border area caused by leaflet distribution also became a major issue during the National Assembly's audit. On the 14th, Mayor Kim Kyung-il appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit of Gyeonggi Province to report on the noise damage from loudspeaker broadcasts and emphasized the need for strong measures to block leaflet distribution, which triggered the current crisis. Subsequently, on the 16th, Gyeonggi Province designated Paju, Yeoncheon, and Gimpo as danger zones, allowing authorities to issue entry bans to leaflet distributors and, if orders are disobeyed, to deploy special judicial police to forcibly remove them and impose criminal penalties.
Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju said, “The anxiety and suffering of Paju citizens are growing, and their lives and safety are seriously threatened. We will make full use of the local government authority secured through the designation of danger zones to actively detect and crack down on leaflet distribution activities.”
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