North Korea Says It Will Resume Border Loudspeaker Propaganda

North Korea has said it plans to resume broadcasting anti-South Korea propaganda across the armed border between the two countries. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that North Korea will place loudspeakers along the entire border. She made the statement after visiting fortifications along the frontier with top military officials.

In the same statement, Kim Yo Jong warned Seoul of "the most horrible and distressing situation" if South Korea continued what Pyongyang calls interference in North Korea's internal affairs. Al Jazeera reported that she followed up on Thursday. In that statement she said North Korea would put "new counter means" on alert along the border and have its loudspeakers on "standby" within days.

The loudspeaker dispute is not new. Both North and South Korea have historically used loudspeakers to blast messages across the border, which runs through the Demilitarized Zone, a buffer strip of land separating the two countries. On October 19, North Korea had already threatened to restart the broadcasts and to deploy more weapons along the border, according to PBS NewsHour.

South Korea's Ministry of National Defence responded on Thursday by urging North Korea to discuss measures to ease tension at the border and prevent any accidental military clash. North Korea had earlier cut a military hotline with the South, a direct line between the two militaries, after declaring it would no longer seek dialogue or unification with South Korea.

Tension on the ground has also been visible this month. A landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone last month wounded three South Korean soldiers.

The current standoff follows a period of de-escalation in 2025. South Korea's military said on June 11, 2025, that it had suspended loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea. South Korean authorities began removing the loudspeakers in August 2025, and North Korea started dismantling some of its own border loudspeakers that month, according to South Korea. On September 1, 2025, South Korea suspended its anti-North Korea radio broadcasts, known as "Voice of Freedom," which carried items such as news about North Korea's regime, South Korean economic development and K-pop.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has taken a dual approach. On October 1, he called on North Korea to help restore trust and resume dialogue, and in the same address he pledged a military buildup, according to Reuters.