North korea announces plan to ‘irritate’ south korea by blaring loudspeakers at the border

Kim Yo Jong, influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has announced that giant loudspeakers will again be installed at the South Korean border to carry out propaganda. At the same time she warned Seoul that if interference in North Korea’s internal affairs continues, South Korea will face the ‘most horrific and painful situation’.

In a report published on Thursday (October 22), Japan Times said Kim Yo Jong stated in a statement that anti-South Korea loudspeakers will be activated along the entire border by the end of October.

Earlier on Wednesday night she inspected border military fortifications and defence systems accompanied by senior military officials.

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea’s strategic military units have taken up new positions at the border. She also claimed that South Korean troops broadcast provocative messages in the border area and fired blank or warning shots at multiple places.

Regarding the warning shots, Kim Yo Jong said if any of those shots damage North Korean territory or any soldier, North Korean forces will respond ‘without hesitation and ruthlessly’.

On the other hand, South Korea has claimed its steps are ‘legal and defensive’. The country’s defence and unification ministries have called on North Korea to return to the negotiation table.

In a statement the South Korean military said Kim Yo Jong’s reaction to Seoul’s steps, taken with the assistance of the United Nations Command (UNC) to strengthen control in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), shows that these measures are effective. The statement said if North Korea implements its threats, South Korea will also give a ‘proportionate and appropriate response’.

Kim Yo Jong’s warning is being seen as a major blow to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s diplomatic efforts to reduce hostility between the two countries. Tension at the border has increased since he assumed office in June last year.

The Demilitarised Zone has separated the two countries since the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953 and ended with an armistice. Historically both countries have used large loudspeakers for propaganda at the border.

Professor Lim Eul-chul of South Korea’s Kyungnam University believes Kim Yo Jong’s threat does not mean the loudspeakers will be activated immediately. However, it has created a major political and military dilemma for President Lee Jae-myung’s administration.