[Comprehensive] North Korea Dismantles Loudspeakers Facing South in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province

On the 23rd, loudspeakers aimed at South Korea were installed in Gaepung County, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea, as seen from the Peace Observatory in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. 2020.6.23 (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] It has been confirmed that North Korea is dismantling the loudspeaker broadcasting facilities aimed at South Korea, which were reinstalled in the front-line area, just three days after installation.

On the 24th, a military official stated, "North Korea is dismantling about 10 loudspeakers aimed at South Korea that were reinstalled in some front-line areas near the Peace Observatory in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province."

North Korea began reinstalling loudspeaker broadcasting facilities aimed at South Korea in about 20 locations in the front-line area from the afternoon of the 21st. Since the loudspeakers aimed at South Korea, which had been dismantled following the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, were reinstalled after about two years, it was expected that activities such as slander and propaganda through loudspeaker broadcasts would intensify around the DMZ area. However, with North Korea starting to dismantle the loudspeakers, it is anticipated that the remaining approximately 10 locations will also be dismantled.

This is presumed to be related to the directive by Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, reported by North Korean media on the morning of the same day, to "suspend military actions against the South" on the 23rd. The Korean Central News Agency reported, "At the preliminary meeting held on the 23rd, the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea evaluated the recent situation and the General Staff of the Korean People's Army suspended the military action plans against the South Korea, which were submitted to the 7th Central Military Commission's 5th meeting."

South and North Korea dismantled the loudspeakers aimed at South Korea installed in the front-line area on May 1, 2018. At that time, the dismantling of the loudspeaker broadcasting facilities was regarded as the first implementation case of the historic Panmunjom Declaration signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un. The April 27 Panmunjom Declaration states, "From May 1, all hostile acts including loudspeaker broadcasts and leaflet distribution around the Military Demarcation Line will cease, and the means will be dismantled, and the Demilitarized Zone will be made into a practical peace zone."

Meanwhile, as Kim Jong-un announced the suspension of military action plans against the South, several articles criticizing the distribution of leaflets against North Korea by external propaganda media were deleted all at once. On the 24th, checking the websites of external propaganda media such as 'Chosun Today,' 'Echo of Unification,' and 'Echo,' 13 articles criticizing the South Korea that were reported early that morning were all deleted within half a day.

Until the day before, these media outlets had been mainly used to rally hostile public opinion by continuously publishing articles criticizing South Korea. This article deletion action was taken after reports emerged that Kim Jong-un decided to suspend military action plans against the South at the preliminary meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea that morning.

Regarding North Korea's actions, some interpret that the demolition of the Kaesong liaison office alone sent a strong message to our government, and that the urgent deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula is also a factor.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.