North Korea will place anti-South Korea loudspeakers on standby along its entire border within days and has put unspecified new countermeasures on alert, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Thursday.
She warned Seoul of ‘the most horrible and distressing situation’ if South Korea continued what Pyongyang described as interference in North Korea’s internal affairs.
On Wednesday evening, after visiting fortification sites with senior military officials, Kim said North Korea would activate anti-South Korea loudspeakers along the border by the end of October.
She said North Korean tactical units had taken up new positions and accused South Korean troops of conducting warning broadcasts and firing warning shots at multiple locations near the border.
South Korea said the warning shots were fired as ‘legitimate and defensive measures’.
Kim warned that North Korean troops would ‘mercilessly eliminate’ South Korean forces if warning fire caused harm to North Korean territory or personnel.
Seoul calls for dialogue as tensions rise
South Korea’s military and Unification Ministry urged North Korea to return to talks to resolve their differences.
The South Korean military said Kim’s statements showed that measures taken with the United Nations Command to strengthen control in the demilitarised zone were having an effect.
South Korea’s defence ministry said Seoul would take ‘proportionate measures’ if North Korea acted on its threats, although no decision had been made.
Loudspeaker threat adds pressure on Seoul
The latest threats from Pyongyang deal a blow to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to ease tensions between the two Koreas, raising concerns along the heavily fortified border to their highest level since he took office in June last year.
Both countries have historically used loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda across the border. South Korean broadcasts have included K-pop music and news, which have long angered Pyongyang and prompted retaliatory responses.
The two Koreas are separated by a demilitarised zone established after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice.
North Korea has been reinforcing its side of the zone with mines, barriers and fencing since 2024 as it seeks to establish what it calls a permanent border with South Korea.
South Korea said mines planted by North Korea during its fortification activities in the demilitarised zone caused an explosion last month that seriously injured two soldiers. North Korea denied responsibility, describing the incident as a fabrication by Seoul.
Lee’s engagement policy faces fresh challenges
Since taking office, Lee has pursued diplomatic engagement and efforts to reduce tensions with North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to resume dialogue and its designation of South Korea as a hostile state.
His administration halted South Korean loudspeaker broadcasts and began dismantling fixed loudspeakers along the border last year, describing the moves as key confidence-building measures.
North Korea subsequently suspended its own broadcasts towards the South.
