North Korea Also Halts Loudspeaker Broadcasts in Response to South's Suspension

JCS: "No Areas Detected North Korean Loudspeaker Broadcasts Toward the South Today"

As the South Korean government has preemptively halted loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in an effort to ease tensions between the two Koreas, attention is now focused on North Korea's response.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on June 12, there were no regions where North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South were heard on this day. The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "The last time we detected a North Korean broadcast toward the South was late last night on the western front, and there have been none since then," adding, "We are closely monitoring related developments in North Korea."

Yonhap News

Previously, at 2:00 p.m. the previous day, the South Korean military suspended all loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea across the entire front line on the orders of President Lee Jaemyung. This comes about one year after the loudspeaker broadcasts were resumed in June last year during the administration of President Yoon Sukyeol, following a six-year hiatus. The presidential office explained, "This is a measure to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula."

For now, it is difficult to confirm whether North Korea has completely suspended or halted its loudspeaker broadcasts in response to the South Korean military's actions. An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts varied in content (noise) and operating hours by region," adding, "Unless North Korea officially announces a suspension, we have no choice but to keep monitoring the situation."

However, since North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South were a countermeasure to the South Korean military's broadcasts toward the North, there is a strong possibility that North Korea will take a proportional action. Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, "North Korea has stated that its broadcasts toward the South are a proportional response to South Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North," adding, "While it is unclear whether this will happen immediately or take more time, it seems highly likely that North Korea will also suspend its loudspeaker broadcasts."

Nevertheless, even if North Korea suspends its loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South, it is unlikely that this will lead to the restoration of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement, which is one of President Lee's pledges. The September 19 military agreement is an annex to the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration of 2018, which defined the two Koreas as having a special relationship. Given that North Korea has now shifted to treating inter-Korean relations as those between two hostile states, the likelihood of North Korea accepting the agreement is considered low.

Meanwhile, North Korea is publicly highlighting its strategic partnership with Russia both domestically and internationally. North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un, in a congratulatory message sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russia's national day the previous day, referred to Russia as a "brother nation" and said that the relationship had "developed into an exemplary model of an unbreakable, genuine comrade and alliance relationship."