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| North and South Korea on Alert Over Loudspeakers Blaring Propaganda | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — After years of calm — or relative calm, at least — on the heavily militarized border between North and South Korea, both sides were back on alert Friday. The unlikely cause: Loudspeakers. | SEOUL, South Korea — After years of calm — or relative calm, at least — on the heavily militarized border between North and South Korea, both sides were back on alert Friday. The unlikely cause: Loudspeakers. |
| North Korea said Friday morning that its leader, Kim Jong-un, had ordered military units to be ready to attack loudspeakers near the border that the South has used in recent days to blare propaganda messages. Mr. Kim gave the South until 5 p.m. Saturday to stop the broadcasts. | North Korea said Friday morning that its leader, Kim Jong-un, had ordered military units to be ready to attack loudspeakers near the border that the South has used in recent days to blare propaganda messages. Mr. Kim gave the South until 5 p.m. Saturday to stop the broadcasts. |
| Threats from Pyongyang are hardly uncommon, but this one came the day after the North directed artillery fire and what may have been a rocket across the border, according to South Korea, provoking a response from the South. It was the Koreas’ first exchange of fire on such a scale in five years. | Threats from Pyongyang are hardly uncommon, but this one came the day after the North directed artillery fire and what may have been a rocket across the border, according to South Korea, provoking a response from the South. It was the Koreas’ first exchange of fire on such a scale in five years. |
| On Friday, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, wearing a camouflage uniform, visited the Third Army Corps south of Seoul and ordered the military to “respond decisively” to any provocations from the North. Her government said it had no intention of stopping the broadcasts, which North Korea said had defiled the “dignity of its supreme leadership” by carrying anti-Kim propaganda. | On Friday, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, wearing a camouflage uniform, visited the Third Army Corps south of Seoul and ordered the military to “respond decisively” to any provocations from the North. Her government said it had no intention of stopping the broadcasts, which North Korea said had defiled the “dignity of its supreme leadership” by carrying anti-Kim propaganda. |
| “North Korea is not entitled to talk about dignity,” Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo said on Friday at a hearing in Parliament. He cited recent North Korean television broadcasts in which Ms. Park was called a prostitute and soldiers were shown shooting at her image with rifles. | “North Korea is not entitled to talk about dignity,” Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo said on Friday at a hearing in Parliament. He cited recent North Korean television broadcasts in which Ms. Park was called a prostitute and soldiers were shown shooting at her image with rifles. |
| A South Korean analyst who studies the North said on Friday that Pyongyang’s threats regarding the loudspeakers reflected high-level anxiety that the broadcasts could hurt the morale of troops near the border. | A South Korean analyst who studies the North said on Friday that Pyongyang’s threats regarding the loudspeakers reflected high-level anxiety that the broadcasts could hurt the morale of troops near the border. |
| “The North is desperate to stop loudspeaker broadcasts because they can undermine the morale of front-line North Korean troops and its military’s psychological preparedness,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. | “The North is desperate to stop loudspeaker broadcasts because they can undermine the morale of front-line North Korean troops and its military’s psychological preparedness,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. |
| “Given the North’s sense of crisis and anxiety over the loudspeakers, it is highly possible for the North to attempt a military provocation if the broadcasts continue,” Mr. Cheong said. | “Given the North’s sense of crisis and anxiety over the loudspeakers, it is highly possible for the North to attempt a military provocation if the broadcasts continue,” Mr. Cheong said. |
| South Korean officials said on Friday that the North had not targeted any of its loudspeaker batteries on Thursday, but they said it was clear that the live fire had been intended as a warning to stop using them. | South Korean officials said on Friday that the North had not targeted any of its loudspeaker batteries on Thursday, but they said it was clear that the live fire had been intended as a warning to stop using them. |
| The loudspeakers, which are usually at the top of hills, bombard North Korean soldiers in the so-called Demilitarized Zone (as well as villages nearby) with a steady stream of broadcasts, ranging from South Korean pop music to news that ordinary people in the isolated, totalitarian country would never otherwise hear — such as reports of senior officials in its government being executed for disloyalty to Mr. Kim. | The loudspeakers, which are usually at the top of hills, bombard North Korean soldiers in the so-called Demilitarized Zone (as well as villages nearby) with a steady stream of broadcasts, ranging from South Korean pop music to news that ordinary people in the isolated, totalitarian country would never otherwise hear — such as reports of senior officials in its government being executed for disloyalty to Mr. Kim. |
| The loudspeaker tactic dates from the Cold War and had not been used since 2004 — until Aug. 10, when the South turned on 11 batteries of high-powered speakers along its side of the border. It did so days after two South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines near their guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone this month; the South accused the North of planting the mines, which it denied. | The loudspeaker tactic dates from the Cold War and had not been used since 2004 — until Aug. 10, when the South turned on 11 batteries of high-powered speakers along its side of the border. It did so days after two South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines near their guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone this month; the South accused the North of planting the mines, which it denied. |
| Propaganda tactics like the loudspeaker broadcasts may be more threatening to North Korea’s totalitarian government than they once were, as it becomes increasingly difficult to keep its people isolated from outside news and ideas. With black-market commerce mushrooming along its border with China, CDs and computer memory sticks containing South Korean movies and TV soap operas have become increasingly popular in the North, where radio and TV sets are preset to receive only government broadcasts. | Propaganda tactics like the loudspeaker broadcasts may be more threatening to North Korea’s totalitarian government than they once were, as it becomes increasingly difficult to keep its people isolated from outside news and ideas. With black-market commerce mushrooming along its border with China, CDs and computer memory sticks containing South Korean movies and TV soap operas have become increasingly popular in the North, where radio and TV sets are preset to receive only government broadcasts. |
| The loudspeaker broadcasts, a tactic that both Koreas used during the Cold War, were stopped in 2004 during a period when animosities were easing. Before then, both sides waged a propaganda war with fervor along the border. Day and night, soft music floated across the rugged hills of the Demilitarized Zone, interspersed with female voices enticing soldiers to cross to the other side. | The loudspeaker broadcasts, a tactic that both Koreas used during the Cold War, were stopped in 2004 during a period when animosities were easing. Before then, both sides waged a propaganda war with fervor along the border. Day and night, soft music floated across the rugged hills of the Demilitarized Zone, interspersed with female voices enticing soldiers to cross to the other side. |
| The border propaganda went beyond audio messages. The North carved giant signs into south-facing hillsides reading “Come to the socialist paradise!” The South built gigantic electronic signboards that kept North Korean soldiers up to date on the ever-expanding gap between the two countries’ per capita gross national product. | The border propaganda went beyond audio messages. The North carved giant signs into south-facing hillsides reading “Come to the socialist paradise!” The South built gigantic electronic signboards that kept North Korean soldiers up to date on the ever-expanding gap between the two countries’ per capita gross national product. |
| Both sides also launched large balloons with loads of propaganda leaflets, timed to be released once across the border. They also broadcast messages by radio. | Both sides also launched large balloons with loads of propaganda leaflets, timed to be released once across the border. They also broadcast messages by radio. |
| Some North Korean defectors have said that they began thinking about fleeing to the South after hearing the broadcasts. | Some North Korean defectors have said that they began thinking about fleeing to the South after hearing the broadcasts. |
| The propaganda truce that began in 2004 started unraveling in 2010, after 46 sailors were killed in the sinking of a South Korean naval ship that the South attributed to a torpedo attack by the North. The South Korean government has since revived the radio broadcasts, and anti-North activists have also begun sending leaflets by balloon. (Some of their leaflets carry images of Mr. Kim as a bloodthirsty pig.) | The propaganda truce that began in 2004 started unraveling in 2010, after 46 sailors were killed in the sinking of a South Korean naval ship that the South attributed to a torpedo attack by the North. The South Korean government has since revived the radio broadcasts, and anti-North activists have also begun sending leaflets by balloon. (Some of their leaflets carry images of Mr. Kim as a bloodthirsty pig.) |
| “The broadcasts and leaflets from the outside are to North Koreans what news media is to the rest of the world,” said Lee Min-bok, a North Korean defector who runs a privately funded operation to send leaflet balloons into the North. “That’s because there is no free radio, no Internet in the North.” | “The broadcasts and leaflets from the outside are to North Koreans what news media is to the rest of the world,” said Lee Min-bok, a North Korean defector who runs a privately funded operation to send leaflet balloons into the North. “That’s because there is no free radio, no Internet in the North.” |
| South Korean officials did not reveal full details of the contents of their resumed loudspeaker broadcasts. But they said the broadcasts could reach up to 12 miles beyond the border. | South Korean officials did not reveal full details of the contents of their resumed loudspeaker broadcasts. But they said the broadcasts could reach up to 12 miles beyond the border. |
| North Korea has turned on some of its own loudspeakers in response, but South Korean officials say they are so outdated that the broadcasts are barely audible in the South. | North Korea has turned on some of its own loudspeakers in response, but South Korean officials say they are so outdated that the broadcasts are barely audible in the South. |
| North Korea’s announcement on Friday said that Mr. Kim had ordered all front-line units to go into a “semi-war state,” one of the country’s highest levels of military alert, as of 5 p.m. At that level of the alert, North Korean troops are expected to be on standby, fully armed, in bunkers and gun positions, said Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry. | North Korea’s announcement on Friday said that Mr. Kim had ordered all front-line units to go into a “semi-war state,” one of the country’s highest levels of military alert, as of 5 p.m. At that level of the alert, North Korean troops are expected to be on standby, fully armed, in bunkers and gun positions, said Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry. |