North Korea to resume propaganda broadcasts, South Korea urges dialogue

As Seoul pressed Pyongyang to discuss easing tensions, north Korea has remarked it aims to resume broadcasting anti-South Korea propaganda along the armed border between the two countries.

Key points

• The two Koreas are separated by the DMZ, established after the 1950-53 Korean War concluded in an armistice.
• Kim cautioned Seoul of "the most horrible and distressing situation" if South Korea continued what Pyongyang calls interference in the North's internal affairs.
• A landmine blast last month that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries has ratcheted up tensions.
• North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other fortifications to what is already one of the world's most heavily armed borders.
• Pyongyang had cut off a military hotline with the South after declaring it would no longer seek dialogue or unification with what it called its "foe".

After a visit with top military authorities to fortifications along the contested frontier, kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, remarked on Wednesday that North Korea will place loudspeakers along the entire border.

She continued in a follow-up statement on Thursday that North Korea would place "new counter means" on alert along the border, without elaborating, and have its loudspeakers on "standby" within days.

In practice, a landmine blast last month that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries has ratcheted up tensions. Seoul accused North Korean troops of deliberately laying mines in the border zone as part of the North's fortification work.

Kim had denied the allegation, calling the incident a South Korean fabrication. She remarked North Korean tactical units had taken up new positions, and accused South Korean troops of conducting warning broadcasts and firing warning shots at multiple locations near the border.

Seoul remarked the warning shots were fired as "legitimate and defensive measures".

South Korea's Ministry of National Defence pressed North Korea on Thursday to discuss measures to ease tension at the border and prevent any accidental military clash, its spokesperson stated.

Both North and South Korea have historically applied loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda throughout the border, with South Korean broadcasts featuring K-pop music and news that have long irked Pyongyang and prompted tit-for-tat responses.

Notably, the two Koreas are separated by the DMZ, established after the 1950-53 Korean War concluded in an armistice.

North Korea has been reinforcing its side of the DMZ with mines, barriers and fencing since 2024 as it seeks to establish what it calls a permanent border with South Korea.

In short, north Korea to resume propaganda broadcasts, South Korea urges dialogue is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.