South Korea resumes loudspeaker broadcasts as more trash balloons arrive from North

South Korean soldiers inspect loudspeakers before installing them near the inter-Korean border, in this recent photo. The South Korean government decided, Sunday, to resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border in response to North Korea’s recent launches of trash-carrying balloons. Courtesy of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Pyongyang stages balloon campaign for second straight dayBy Kwak Yeon-soo

The South Korean government decided, Sunday, to resume loudspeaker broadcasts along the inter-Korean border in response to North Korea’s recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.

Hours after the decision, the military announced that it had aired messages — presumably critical of the North Korean regime — across the border. However, it declined to provide details on the psychological warfare broadcasts, such as their timing, location and delivery methods.

The presidential office convened a National Security Council emergency meeting led by National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin to discuss ways to respond to Pyongyang’s latest balloon campaign on Saturday, which was the third of its kind since late May.

“We will install loudspeakers against North Korea and resume the broadcasts today. The measures we are taking may be difficult for the North Korean regime to endure, but they will deliver messages of light and hope to the North Korean military and citizens,” the presidential office said in a statement.

“We make it clear that all responsibility arising from tensions between the two Koreas lies entirely with North Korea. The government will maintain a firm readiness posture against any provocations from North Korea,” it added.

A senior official at the presidential office said the government cannot stay silent over North Korea's actions that are causing confusion and social anxiety.

"Even if the contents of the trash balloons are not fatal, it leaves us with no choice but to take strong action because it could have a psychological impact on the public," the official said.

North Korea sent a third wave of trash balloons toward the South on Saturday night, six days after it vowed to resume such a campaign if civic groups in the South launch balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to the North.

North Korea resumed its sending of such balloons late Sunday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The balloon campaign comes just days after several North Korean defectors’ groups in the South, including Fighters for Free North Korea and Gyeoreul Unification Solidarity, sent propaganda leaflets toward the North on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“We have detected about 330 balloons carrying trash coming from North Korea, and around 80 of them made it into South Korea. Plastic and paper waste were among the contents of the balloons, but no hazardous substances were discovered,” the JCS said.

A trash balloon, presumably from North Korea, lands in the Han River near Jamsil Bridge in eastern Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Expert warned that resuming loudspeaker broadcasts could ratchet tensions up further on the Korean Peninsula as such activity is a key tool for psychological warfare. The loudspeaker broadcasts carry messages critical of the Kim Jong-un regime, as well as South Korean news and K-pop songs, and North Korea is extremely sensitive to such broadcasts due to the possible effects on its military and the general public.

“The risk of military incidents taking place along the border will grow in the future, which will unnerve residents living in the border area. The government’s action will inevitably increase tensions on the peninsula,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University.

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, said the move could heighten military tensions by prompting North Korea to take its own retaliatory military actions.

“The measure taken by the government could escalate tensions on the peninsula. North Korea may carry out military provocations in response to the government's complete suspension of the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and President Yoon Suk Yeol's Memorial Day speech,” Yang said.

"Provocative acts may include stationing heavy weapons along the Demilitarized Zone, firing coastal artillery in the West Sea and its boats intentionally crossing the Northern Limit Line."

Amid growing concerns over an escalation of North Korean aggression against the South, the presidential official said both the government and the military are prepared to respond to its additional threats at the maximum level.

Lately, South Korea has been taking a hardline approach against the North. On Tuesday, the government warned it would take “unendurable” measures against the North for its trash balloons, which could include resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North.

The same day, Seoul fully suspended the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, which made it possible to resume the loudspeaker broadcasts near the border.

Following the suspension of the agreement, the South Korean military vowed to resume all military activities near the Military Demarcation Line and take adequate and immediate responses to North Korean provocations.

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