Kim Yo Jong Warns South Korea As North Korea Plans Loudspeakers Along Entire Border

Loudspeakers to Return

North Korea said it would resume anti-South Korea propaganda broadcasts along the armed border, with Kim Yo Jong telling Seoul that North Korea will place loudspeakers along the entire border and put new countermeasures on alert within days. Kim Yo Jong warned that “the most horrible and distressing situation” would follow if South Korea continued what Pyongyang calls interference in North Korea’s internal affairs, and she linked the move to a visit with top military officials to fortifications along the contested frontier. Seoul said warning shots were “legitimate and defensive measures,” while South Korea’s military and Ministry of Unification urged Pyongyang to return to talks to resolve differences.

Warning to Seoul4 of 7 outlets reported it · not in NPR and 2 more▾

The dispute is rooted in the DMZ established after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, and North Korea has been reinforcing its side with mines, barriers and fencing since 2024 as it seeks what it calls a permanent border with South Korea. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it would send a letter to the UN Security Council claiming a blast was caused by mines planted by North Korea and constituted a violation of the Korean War armistice, while Pyongyang denied responsibility and called it a South Korean fabrication.

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Threats and Countermeasures

Kim Yo Jong warned that 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.

The North Korean statement also said North Korean guards “will have no mercy” if South Korean warning shots cause “actual harm to our territorial security and our service persons' safety,” and it framed the loudspeakers as part of psychological warfare.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said Seoul would need to take “proportionate measures” in response to the North’s moves along the border, while the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Jin Yong-Sung called the threats “intolerable” and ordered the military to “sternly respond.”

The loudspeaker threat would be the first exchange across the border in 16 months, and it described South Korean president Lee Jae Myung suspending broadcasts in June 2025 and dismantling fixed equipment in August.

Seoul and the UN command concluded the Sept. 21 landmine blast south of the military demarcation line injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously, and Pyongyang denied responsibility and called the incident a “self-staged farce.”

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Diplomacy at Risk

North Korea’s loudspeaker threat was described as a blow to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to ease inter-Korean hostility, and Reuters said the tensions along the heavily fortified frontier were raised to their highest level since he took office in June last year. Kim’s statements showed that measures taken with the UN Command to strengthen control in the demilitarized zone were having an effect, while Seoul’s Foreign Ministry planned to demand an apology and urge dialogue to prevent escalation. The two Koreas are separated by the DMZ and North Korea has been reinforcing its side with mines, barriers and fencing since 2024 as it seeks to establish what it calls a permanent border with South Korea.

The dispute centers on the military demarcation line stretching about 250 kilometers, and the 1953 armistice established a dividing line and provided that each side withdraw its forces two kilometers. Kim Yo-jong said her brother intends to turn the territorial boundary into “a permanent line that should never be crossed,” while South Korea’s Ministry of Unification called for talks to clarify the border’s alignment and to open a military channel to prevent incidents.

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