In response to North Korea’s trash balloon attack, the South Korean military authorities have continued loudspeaker broadcasts to North Korea for the third consecutive day.
According to military officials on Saturday, the South Korean forces plan to conduct loudspeaker broadcasts for 16 hours today, from 6 AM to 10 PM. The fixed loudspeakers deployed along the western, central, and eastern front lines will operate in a relay format, broadcasting at different times based on the region.
Last Thursday afternoon, in response to North Korea’s eighth balloon launch targeting South Korea, military authorities activated some of the fixed loudspeakers along the western front for 10 hours. The day before, they operated the loudspeakers for an extra 6 hours, from 4 PM to 10 PM.
The South Korean military plans to continue daily loudspeaker operations until North Korea halts sending trash balloons to South Korea. If North Korea continues its provocations, the South Korean military authorities will gradually increase the loudspeaker operations.
Currently, the South Korean military possesses 40 loudspeakers, including 24 fixed and 16 mobile loudspeakers, all of which target North Korea. Depending on weather conditions and time, these broadcasts can be heard from distances as short as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) to as far as (20 to 30 kilometers (12.4 to 18.6 miles).
The broadcasts targeting North Korea, known as “Voice of Freedom,” relay psychological warfare content, including news and K-pop. In last Friday afternoon’s broadcast, they reported on the defection of Ri Il Kyu, a North Korean diplomat responsible for political affairs at Pyongyang’s embassy in Cuba. Also, they mentioned North Korea’s distribution of trash balloons targeting South Korea. The broadcast also included a message urging North Korean soldiers involved in mine-laying operations in the forward area to “escape from a hellish life of slavery.”
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