North Korea Raises Provocation Level...Talks of Countermeasures with Loudspeakers Emerge

Ongoing North Korean Provocations Raise Talk of 'Loudspeaker Operation'
"Fear of Propaganda Broadcasts" vs. "Due to Dignity Insult"
Anti-North Leaflet Law Bans Loudspeakers...Unconstitutionality Lawsuit Filed

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] As North Korea's blatant nuclear threats continue, the ruling party is discussing the possibility of reactivating the 'loudspeakers for North Korea.' However, there are conflicting views: some argue that the loudspeakers serve as a deterrent by unsettling North Korean soldiers and residents, while others worry that the loudspeakers might further provoke North Korea.

According to political circles on the 4th, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, recently stated in a press release, "We must now respond in a way that truly hurts North Korea, which treats inter-Korean agreements like scraps of paper," adding, "What North Korea fears most is the loudspeakers for North Korea."

North Korea's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) / Rodong Sinmun [Image source=Yonhap News]

The background behind his suggestion to reactivate the loudspeakers is North Korea's drone provocations. Five drones violated our airspace for the first time in five years on the 26th of last month, flying over Seoul's airspace, but the military had no appropriate means to respond.

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized that "provocations must come with severe consequences" in response to North Korea's recent drone provocations, and the military deployed manned and unmanned reconnaissance assets toward North Korea. However, this proportional response is viewed by North Korea as not constituting a 'severe consequence.' This is also why new countermeasures are being proposed.

Two days later, at a party strategy meeting, Representative Tae reiterated, "History has proven that broadcasting through loudspeakers for North Korea is the fastest and most effective way to deter war," and emphasized again, "Currently, President Yoon Suk-yeol is unable to use the deterrent measure of loudspeaker broadcasts near the Demilitarized Zone due to the 'Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act.'"

"They fear the loudspeakers" vs. "Not effective, but due to insult to dignity"

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

Moon Sung-mook, head of the Unification Strategy Center at the Korea Institute for National Strategy, also said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "A series of provocations including missile launches, nuclear threats, and drone incursions constitute a high-level psychological warfare that unsettles our people," and argued, "We also need to engage in psychological warfare through loudspeakers. There is no reason for us alone to be bound by inter-Korean agreements that North Korea has completely destroyed."

As a retired army brigadier general, he cited the August 2015 North Korean landmine incident as an example. The government had refrained from operating loudspeakers in accordance with the so-called 'June 4 Agreement,' but reactivated them following this incident. At that time, North Korea threatened, "If you do not stop the loudspeakers, it will mean war," but we continued broadcasting, and eventually, North Korea expressed regret over the landmine explosion.

Loudspeakers are considered a legacy of the Cold War and are an old psychological warfare tool. However, when comparing the capabilities of North Korea's loudspeakers aimed at the South and our loudspeakers aimed at the North, there is a clear asymmetry in power. The expectation is that broadcasting external information and news not reported by North Korean state media, as well as South Korean pop songs, will unsettle North Korean soldiers and residents.

However, there are also skeptical views about operating the loudspeakers. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, "The idea of reactivating the loudspeakers at this point reflects a perspective that 'confrontation and conflict equal security,'" and questioned, "There has never been a case where North Korean soldiers rioted because of loudspeakers, nor do they operate missiles in front-line units within the range of loudspeaker broadcasts, so what effect can we expect?"

Professor Yang analyzed that North Korea's sensitive reaction to the loudspeakers is due to the 'nature of the regime.' In North Korea, where dictatorship continues through hereditary succession, 'insults to dignity' are strictly taboo, and such content was included in the broadcasts. If the reaction was to 'insults to dignity' rather than unrest among residents, it means that reactivating the loudspeakers could provoke an even stronger backlash from North Korea.

Loudspeakers reaching Kaesong... The key is the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act

The new type of loudspeaker introduced by our military.
[Photo by Taeyoungho, Office of the People Power Party lawmaker]

Our military already possesses sufficient 'loudspeaker capabilities.' According to data submitted to Representative Tae Young-ho by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military has introduced new loudspeakers, including 16 mobile loudspeakers and 24 fixed sets, at a cost of 16 billion KRW.

The audible range of the new loudspeakers is 8 to 10 km for mobile loudspeakers and 12 to 15 km for fixed loudspeakers, capable of broadcasting from the Military Demarcation Line to the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The military explains that they can be operated at any time if the validity of the inter-Korean agreement is suspended.

However, the operation of loudspeakers aimed at North Korea is currently prohibited under the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act, which was enforced by the Democratic Party during the Moon Jae-in administration. Known as the 'Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act,' this law imposes up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million KRW for broadcasting loudspeakers, posting visual materials, or distributing leaflets near the Military Demarcation Line.

Conservative groups criticize the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act for restricting constitutional freedom of expression and the 'freedom to exchange information regardless of borders' guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Twenty-seven organizations, including the Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea (Hanbyun), have filed a constitutional complaint. President Yoon, during his candidacy, referred to the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act as a "wrong decision," and recently, Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se submitted an opinion to the Constitutional Court stating that it is an unconstitutional law that excessively restricts freedom of expression.

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