Kim Yo Jong said on Wednesday, through KCNA, that psychological-warfare loudspeakers aimed at South Korea will go into operation along the whole border by the end of October. Dump derStandard, after APA. A KCNA announcement, not an attack.

Yonhap quotes the English KCNA: “our tactical hunting teams are taking new positions.” The move, after Kim: “the most just measure” and an “appropriate response.” She inspected positions along the southern border in the morning with Pak Jong-chon, an adviser to the Defence Ministry. KCNA had corrected an earlier report that put the inspection on Tuesday.

Kim accuses South Korean forces of firing warning shots in at least two places. If the fire goes beyond its stated purpose and harms North Korean territory or soldiers, border troops “will mercilessly eliminate the armed thugs who have lost their reason.” A conditional threat, not a reported strike.

Seoul had said on Tuesday, after derStandard, that it would punish resolutely any further provocation if Pyongyang strengthened its military presence. President Lee Jae Myung last year halted South Korean broadcasts and took down the fixed loudspeakers. An action then, not on Wednesday.

North Korea’s border fortification began in April 2024. Seoul says up to 7,000 workers have been sent this year and about 50 crossings of the demarcation line; Pyongyang denies it. Two versions.

The loudspeakers are not reported as running today. The deadline is “within October.” Dump derStandard. The rewrite rests on derStandard and on Yonhap, which quotes KCNA.

Image: Imjingak Bridge, South Korean side of the DMZ, 15 December 2018, Lance Vanlewen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The bridge, not Wednesday’s loudspeakers.

Sources consulted: N. Korea to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward S. Korea: N.K. leader's sister — Yonhap.