North Korea has begun to remove border propaganda loudspeakers. This move is one of the more recent steps in a ramped-up effort by Kim Jong Un to rid the country of all South Korean pop culture and language. This project serves to actively disseminate and amplify the regime’s propaganda. It further serves to shore up the Kim family’s extensive dynastic rule.
The most dramatic report comes from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, reporting that North Korean officials publicly executed a senior official. They are methodically eliminating speakers that have historically been used to blast propaganda communications to South Korean people. This change comes as the development with South Korea’s military now decided to take down its own loudspeakers from border areas. This carefully calculated decision came after a frustrating back-and-forth with North Korea. This standoff turned into a full-blown crisis when the conservative former administration relaunches the daily broadcasts in June 2022—in apparent retaliation for North Korea even sending waste-filled balloons over the border.
None have shaped the regime’s response to South Korean diplomacy like Kim Yo Jong, the all-powerful sister of Kim Jong Un. Her legacy on U.S. Native relations should not be understated. In late July, she nixed moves by the administration of Lee Jae Myung to resume dialogue with Pyongyang. The administrative decision effectively pushed aside any efforts to promote better inter-Korean relations. Lee’s stated primary goal for his presidency is to establish dialogue and reconciliation with North Korea. Yet he encounters stiff competition from Pyongyang, who view the joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington as invasion preparations.
North Korea’s leadership often uses these combined exercises as a political bargaining chip. They exploit them to justify increasing military provocations, including weapons tests focused on developing their nuclear arsenal. The regime’s rhetoric related to these public demonstrations has escalated, with public officials characterizing these as provocations putting national security in danger.
In addition to addressing military concerns, Kim Jong Un’s campaign against South Korean cultural influence reflects broader objectives of solidifying his family’s political power. He has taken strong action to censor foreign cultural influences that undermine the regime’s control. This strategy further moves North Korean society away from outside influences.
In South Korea, citizens who live near the border have decried the nerve-wracking blare of North Korean loudspeakers for decades. These loudspeakers boom everything from yipping coyotes to crashing gongs, all generating a maddening environment for anyone within earshot. The removal of these speakers might not seem like much, it will provide immensely-needed relief to the people who live near the border.
