South Korea plans to begin “unbearable” loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea on Sunday in response to Pyongyang’s balloon provocations. This decision follows the discovery of dozens of trash-carrying balloons in Seoul and border areas.
Announced by South Korea’s National Security Council, the loudspeaker broadcasts are intended to send a message of hope and light to North Korean troops and citizens while being a significant provocation to the regime. The broadcasts will feature world news, information about democratic and capitalist societies, and K-pop music, traveling over 20 kilometers into North Korean territory.
North Korea started sending balloons filled with trash and manure across the border in May, responding to South Korean activists’ anti-North leaflets. Although Pyongyang temporarily halted the practice on June 2, declaring that 15 tons of trash were sufficient, it threatened to resume if the leaflet campaign continued.
Defiant South Korean activists have persisted in launching balloons with leaflets critical of Kim Jong Un, USB sticks with K-pop videos, and U.S. dollar notes into North Korea, escalating tensions. Historically, North Korea has responded aggressively to such campaigns, sometimes using weapons against the balloons and speakers.
The loudspeaker broadcasts were initially halted in 2018 under an agreement between the leaders of the two Koreas to promote peace and reduce military tensions. However, relations have since deteriorated as North Korea advanced its ballistic missile development and declared South Korea its “enemy number one.”
South Korea’s military reported that North Korea launched approximately 330 balloons carrying trash starting Saturday, with about 80 landing in South Korean territory.