North Korea to resume propaganda broadcasts, South Korea urges dialogue

North Korea says it plans to resume broadcasting anti-South Korea propaganda along the armed border between the countries, as Seoul has 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.

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

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 “legitimate and defensive measures”.

South Korea’s military and Ministry of Unification urged Pyongyang to return to talks to resolve differences.

Pyongyang’s new threats are a blow to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to ease inter-Korean hostility, and will raise tensions along the heavily fortified frontier to their highest level since he took office in June last ⁠year.

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.

South Korea says North Korean mines planted as part of its fortification activity in the DMZ caused a blast last month that seriously wounded two soldiers. Pyongyang denies responsibility, calling the incident a South ⁠Korean fabrication.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it would send a letter to the UN ⁠Security Council claiming the blast was caused by mines planted by North Korea and constituted a violation of the Korean War armistice.

The letter will demand an apology from Pyongyang and urge dialogue to prevent escalation, a ministry spokesperson told a briefing.

Since taking office, Lee has pursued a policy of diplomatic engagement and tension reduction with North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to resume dialogue ‌and its designation of South Korea as a hostile state.

His administration halted South Korean loudspeaker broadcasts and dismantled fixed border loudspeakers last year. Seoul described the steps as key confidence-building measures, after which North Korea suspended its own broadcasts towards South Korea.