South Korea’s Defense Ministry issued a warning on Tuesday (October 20) in response to North Korea’s threat to deploy more tactical means of attack near the southern border. The Defense Ministry stated that if North Korea uses South Korea’s legitimate defense measures as an excuse for further provocation, South Korea will respond with “resolute punishment.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, stated on October 19 through the North Korean Central News Agency that North Korea is considering resuming border loudspeaker broadcasts towards South Korea and studying the deployment of more tactical means of attack near the southern border, without disclosing specific timing, locations, or scale.
Kim Yo Jong accused South Korea of conducting 201 warning shots and 2,870 loudspeaker warning broadcasts along the border from August 1 to October 17, obstructing North Korea’s border defense projects.
Seoul maintains that the warning shots and broadcasts near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) are to prevent North Korean soldiers from crossing the border and to prompt them to retreat, constituting legitimate defense measures. The South Korean Defense Ministry urges North Korea to stop baseless accusations and repeated border crossings, and to respond to South Korea’s efforts to resolve differences in understanding the demarcation line.
Chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Chen Yong-Sung, stated on October 20 during an inspection of the frontline headquarters responsible for the central front, that if North Korea launches further provocations using South Korea’s legitimate measures as an excuse, the South Korean military will take resolute countermeasures. He criticized North Korea for blaming South Korea for escalating inter-Korean military tensions, and described North Korea’s laying of mines south of the Military Demarcation Line as clear provocation, in violation of the Armistice Agreement.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that the military will take action to strengthen South Korea’s operational control in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Officials from the South Korean Defense Ministry stated that if North Korea resumes loudspeaker broadcasts towards South Korea, South Korea will not exclude taking corresponding measures, including reinstating broadcasts towards North Korea.
In recent years, North Korea has continued to add landmines, barbed wire, anti-tank barriers, and other defense structures along the border to align with its policy of severing relations with South Korea. The South Korean military stated that North Korean soldiers have crossed the Military Demarcation Line over 50 times this year while constructing defensive works.
On September 21, three South Korean soldiers were injured, two with serious ankle injuries and one with minor injuries, due to an explosion of a landmine while on a mission in the non-military zone. The South Korean military confirmed on October 5, following a joint investigation with the UN Command, that the explosion was caused by a landmine planted by North Korea, in violation of the Armistice Agreement. North Korea denied involvement and rejected South Korea’s accusations.
Border loudspeaker broadcasts are psychological warfare tactics used by both Koreas. North Korea typically broadcasts sirens, drumming, animal noises, while South Korea plays K-pop songs and news reports to convey external information to North Korean citizens.
Since President Lee Jae-myung took office in South Korea, he halted the border loudspeaker broadcasts to improve inter-Korean relations. There have been reports that North Korea also started dismantling some broadcast equipment.