North Korea to resume border loudspeaker propaganda as tensions with South rise

North Korea has said it will resume anti-Seoul loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border within days, as tensions with South Korea escalate. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, said after inspecting the border area that loudspeakers would be activated for psychological warfare within October. State news agency KCNA carried her remarks on Thursday.

South Korea's defense ministry spokesperson Jung Bin-na said the South would respond proportionately to the North's move, but that no decision has been made so far. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Yong-soo has directed the military to respond firmly to any potential provocation.

South Korea had stopped its own broadcasts in June 2025 soon after President Lee Jae-myung took office, and removed its loudspeakers altogether in August. Tensions between the two countries escalated after a landmine explosion on the southern side of the military demarcation line on September 21.

South Korea and the UN Command concluded that the explosion was caused by a mine laid by North Korea and amounted to a violation of the armistice agreement, but Pyongyang has denied involvement. According to the South Korean military, North Korean soldiers have repeatedly crossed the demarcation line this year during fortification work, prompting warning shots in response.