The Japan Times - North Korea says 'new firepower units' in place, loudspeakers to return

Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang have soared since the South last month blamed an explosion inside the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries on landmines laid by North Korea, an accusation it has rejected.

"Our tactical hunting teams are taking new positions, and within October, the loudspeakers for psychological warfare against the ROK will be in operation along the whole border," Kim Yo Jong said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name.

The planned resumption of loudspeaker tactics was revealed following an inspection of border positions on Wednesday by Kim and the armed forces' Marshal Pak Jong Chon.

"Our military leadership underlined the need to make those rogues aware that our new firepower units have taken their firing positions," Kim said in a statement carried earlier in the day by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Pak, meanwhile, told troops it was "time to organize the firepower strong enough to strike terror into the enemy's heart".

"If the enemy troops make a provocation actually threatening the safety of our service personnel... The border forces of (North Korea) must take very proficient, specialized and overwhelming military action," he said.

On Tuesday, Seoul's military warned of a "firm" response to further North Korean provocations.

- Serious development -

Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP on Wednesday that the claimed troop movements should be taken seriously.

"These are small military positions -- essentially guard posts or fighting positions for units armed with individual firearms -- and it looks like North Korea has been moving them forward," he said.

"Of the developments we have seen so far, this appears to be among the most serious. North Korea has conducted various demonstrations of its firepower, but this now appears to be about operational deployment."

North Korea has separately tested a slew of weapons recently, including a "new-type" precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to use AI technology.

Seoul's military on Tuesday accused Pyongyang of attempting to shift the blame for escalating military tensions, while confirming the use of loudspeakers and warning shots as "legitimate defensive measures to prevent North Korean troops from crossing the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) and to drive back troops that have crossed it".

Jin Yong-sung, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, also ordered the military to "respond with firm resolve" should North Korea use Seoul's actions as a pretext for aggressive action.

- Loudspeaker legacy -

Both sides have previously employed loudspeaker broadcasts -- a tactic that dates back to the Korean War -- and other attempts at psychological warfare.

In 2024, North Korea sent thousands of trash-carrying balloons southwards, saying they were retaliation for anti-North propaganda balloons floated by South Korean activists.

Later, South Korea turned on border loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years -- including K-pop tunes and international news -- and the North started transmitting strange sounds along the frontier, unsettling South Korean residents.

The broadcasts have previously prompted Pyongyang to threaten artillery strikes on Seoul's speaker units.

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to reach out to the nuclear-armed North and pursue dialogue without preconditions -- a reversal from his hawkish predecessor.

Last year the South's defence ministry removed loudspeakers from its side of the border as "a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North".

K.Yamaguchi--JT