North Korea to resume propaganda broadcasts, South Korea urges dialogue

A soldier stands at a North Korean military guard post next to loudspeakers, seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on February 26, 2026 [File: Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo]

North Korea has said it plans to resume broadcasting anti-South Korea propaganda along the armed border between the two countries, as Seoul urged Pyongyang to discuss easing tensions.

Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that North Korea will place loudspeakers along the entire border, following a visit with top military officials to fortifications along the contested frontier.

list 1 of 3 North Korea tests two submarine-launched missiles, state media reports

list 2 of 3 China-North Korea border bridge may do little to spur trade, experts say

list 3 of 3 South Korea to pull more embassy staff from Ukraine after POW row

Kim warned Seoul of “the most horrible and distressing situation” if South Korea continued what Pyongyang calls interference in the North’s internal affairs.

She added in a follow-up statement on Thursday that North Korea would place “new counter means” on alert along the border, without elaborating, and have its loudspeakers on “standby” within days.

A landmine blast last month that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries has ratcheted up tensions. Seoul accused North Korean troops of deliberately laying mines in the border zone as part of the North’s fortification work.

Kim had denied the allegation, calling the incident a South Korean fabrication. She said 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.

Seoul said the warning shots were fired as “legitimate and defensive measures”.

North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other fortifications to what is already one of the world’s most heavily armed borders.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence urged North Korea on Thursday to discuss measures to ease tension at the border and prevent any accidental military clash, its spokesperson said.

Pyongyang had cut off a military hotline with the South after declaring it would no longer seek dialogue or unification with what it called its “foe”.

Loudspeaker propaganda

Both North and South Korea have historically used loudspeakers to broadcast propaganda across the border, with South Korean broadcasts featuring K-pop music and news that have long irked Pyongyang and prompted tit-for-tat responses.

The two Koreas are separated by the DMZ, established after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice.

North Korea has been reinforcing its side of the DMZ with mines, barriers and fencing since 2024 as it seeks to establish what it calls a permanent border with South Korea.

2026年2月26日，在韩国坡州（靠近朝鲜边境）拍摄的照片显示，一名士兵站在朝鲜军事哨所的扬声器旁。[图片：Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo]

朝鲜表示计划恢复在朝韩边境沿线播放反韩宣传，与此同时，首尔敦促平壤讨论缓和紧张局势。

朝鲜高级官员、领导人金正恩的妹妹金与正周三表示，朝鲜将在整个边境沿线安装扩音器。此前，她曾与高级军事官员视察了争议边界沿线的防御工事。

朝鲜试射两枚潜射导弹（列表1/3），官方媒体报道

专家称，中朝边境大桥建设对促进贸易作用不大（共3座，此列为第2座）。

韩国将在战俘事件后从乌克兰撤回更多使馆人员（共3项，此为第3项）

金正恩警告首尔，如果韩国继续干涉朝鲜内政（平壤称之为干涉朝鲜内政），将会出现“最可怕、最令人痛心的局面”。

她在周四的后续声明中补充说，朝鲜将在边境沿线部署“新的反制手段”，但没有详细说明，并将在几天内使其扩音器处于“待命”状态。

上个月，朝韩非军事区发生一起地雷爆炸事件，造成三名韩国士兵受伤，这加剧了两国间的紧张局势。首尔方面指责朝鲜军队蓄意在边境地区埋设地雷，作为其防御工事建设的一部分。

金女士否认了这一指控，称该事件是韩国捏造的。她表示，朝鲜战术部队已占据新的阵地，并指责韩国军队在边境附近多处地点进行警告广播和鸣枪示警。

首尔方面表示，鸣枪示警是“合法且防御性的措施”。

朝鲜一直在其本已是世界上武装最严密的边界之一上增设地雷、铁丝网、反坦克障碍和其他防御工事。

韩国国防部发言人周四表示，国防部敦促朝鲜讨论缓解边境紧张局势、防止意外军事冲突的措施。

平壤宣布不再寻求与它所谓的“敌人”进行对话或统一后，切断了与韩国的军事热线。

扩音器宣传

历史上，朝鲜和韩国都曾使用扩音器向边境另一侧广播宣传内容，韩国的广播内容以 K-pop 音乐和新闻为主，长期以来一直激怒着平壤，并引发了针锋相对的回应。

朝鲜半岛南北两部分由非军事区隔开，该非军事区是在 1950-53 年朝鲜战争以停战协定结束后设立的。

自 2024 年以来，朝鲜一直在加强其在非军事区一侧的防御，包括设置地雷、障碍物和围栏，以期与韩国建立其所谓的永久边界。