North Korea to Resume Border Propaganda Broadcasts in October as Mine-Blast Tensions Escalate
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Oct 21
North Korea to Resume Border Propaganda Broadcasts in October as Mine-Blast Tensions Escalate
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Oct 21
Summary
Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will switch on anti-Seoul loudspeakers along the entire border within October, reviving a Cold War-style psychological warfare campaign.
The move follows Sept. 21 land mine blasts that injured three South Korean frontline soldiers; Seoul says a U.S.-led UN Command inspection found North Korean-planted mines, which Pyongyang denies.
Kim made the announcement while inspecting frontline fortification work—mines, barbed wire and anti-tank barriers—and warned North Korean guards would show "no mercy" if South Korean warning shots caused actual harm.
South Korea says North Korean soldiers have crossed the military demarcation line 50 times this year during the work, prompting warning shots and broadcasts; Joint Chiefs chairman Jin Yong-Sung called Kim's threats intolerable and ordered a stern response.
The renewed broadcasts deepen Kim Jong Un's hard line toward Seoul after South Korea's Lee Jae Myung government had halted its own loudspeakers last year in an effort to improve ties.