Tensions escalate between North and South Korea
Jun 22, 2020
Seoul [South Korea], June 22 : North Korea has started re-installing propaganda loudspeakers in regions along the inter-Korean border after having them removed under a 2018 summit agreement with South Korea, military officials said Monday.
Yonhap new agency reported that North Korea has been detected setting up loudspeakers again "in multiple places" inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
"Such moves were spotted in more than 10 regions, which have taken place simultaneously," an official of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying.
He said, "We are closely monitoring the North's moves to wage psychological warfare. We maintain a tight readiness posture to properly respond to any eventualities."
Reacting to this move, South Korea has also started reviewing the option of restoring its loudspeakers. It had removed its loudspeaker broadcast equipment installed in around 40 front-line areas, including the border town of Paju, in May 2018 in accordance with the Panmunjom Declaration.
Over the past couple of weeks tensions in the region have spiked.
Earlier, North Korea cut off communications with the South, and also blew up the joint liaison office in the border town of Kaesong last week.
According to Pyongyang, it was in protest over Seoul's failure to act against North Korean defectors who were sending to their home country leaflets critical of policies of Chairman Kim Jong Un.
