South resorts to psychological warfare over loudspeakers after North's latest trash balloon launch

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday that it had identified around 500 waste balloons in the ninth round of launches by North Korea the previous day.

Loudspeaker broadcasts blare from a guard post on the South Korean side of the border near Paju, Gyeonggi, on Sunday. [NEWS1]

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday that it had identified around 500 waste balloons in the ninth round of launches by North Korea the previous day. Seoul's military began full-scale loudspeaker broadcasts on all fronts along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from 1 p.m. Sunday in response to the waste balloon launch.

“Of the 500 [waste balloons], 240 fell in South Korean territory, mainly in northern Gyeonggi and Seoul,” the JCS said.

The balloons carried mostly paper waste, and the military has found no safety hazards in their analysis so far.

“The launch of the balloons ended at around 8 p.m. Sunday,” a military official said. “No more waste balloons have currently been identified in the air.”

On Monday, the South Korean military began loudspeaker broadcasts at 6 a.m. and will continue them for 16 consecutive hours until 10 p.m., the JCS said.

The loudspeaker broadcasts reportedly include news of the recent defection of a North Korean diplomat to South Korea and the deaths of several North Korean soldiers in an explosion during a landmine-laying operation in an area north of the DMZ.

On Sunday, South Korea’s military announced through loudspeaker broadcasts that North Korean authorities had arrested a soldier who was trying to escape from a front-line unit. Units where land mine explosions occurred, including the People’s Army 3rd Division, were also identified in the broadcasts.

Beyond simply resuming the loudspeaker broadcasts, South Korea has launched full-fledged psychological warfare by disclosing every detail of North Korea’s frontline activities.

The loudspeaker broadcast began Sunday with solemn music and a woman’s voice saying, “We warn the North Korean military.”

“At around 8 p.m. on July 18, we all watched as a North Korean person trying to escape from a slave-like life was captured and taken away in the demilitarized zone in front of the 46th Division of the People’s Army on the eastern front,” the broadcast continued.

It was the first time that the North Korean soldier's attempted defection and capture had been made public. The 46th Division mentioned in the broadcast is reportedly based in Yulsa-ri, Kangwon Province.

The inclusion of this information in the loudspeaker broadcast to North Korea appears to be an attempt to create turmoil in the North’s military by conveying as many specific facts as possible, taking into account the closed nature of the North Korean military, in which internal information is tightly controlled.

“Up to 40 loudspeakers, including 24 fixed ones and 16 mobile ones, will be fully operational,” an official from the JCS said as South Korea’s military announced the loudspeaker broadcasts Sunday.

The broadcast also detailed the deaths of North Korean soldiers during a landmine-laying operation.

“Due to your futile actions, unfortunate accidents have recently occurred in the People’s Army’s 3rd, 15th, 25th and 2nd divisions, resulting in the deaths of many soldiers due to land mines explosions,” the broadcasts said.

This specifically identifies the units in question in relation to the land mine explosion incidents that the JCS previously announced to domestic media.

The North Korean military has recently erected anti-tank barriers around the Northern Limit Line and laid land mines while conducting work around the military demarcation line (MDL), according to the JCS. In the process, many personnel were sent in without proper protective gear to speedily get the work done, causing land mines to explode and the resulting deaths.

Sentiment within the North Korean military is deteriorating, but the North’s authorities are believed to be busy covering it up.

“Despite multiple warnings, you are still sending balloons filled with trash and committing petty acts even when unprecedented heavy rain is causing great damage to both South and North Korea,” the broadcast further said. “Also, you are not stopping extremely dangerous actions by deploying large-scale troops in the MDL area. This is a violation of the Armistice Agreement and a deeply provocative act targeting South Korea.”

The broadcasts also included information about the defection of senior North Korean figures, including that of Ri Il-gyu, a former counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba.

“Recently, many diplomats are fleeing North Korea due to shame, disgrace and disillusionment with the North Korean regime’s abnormal and unethical actions,” the broadcasts continued.

“As your petty and low-level actions and unreasonable, abnormal and unethical atrocities continue, the ridicule and criticism from the entire international community increase, and the miserable and poor living conditions of the North Korean people have become clearly known to the world,” the broadcasts also said. “The North Korean people should not risk their precious lives by launching useless waste balloons and engaging in fruitless action along the MDL.”

UPDATE July 22 : Information about South Korea's psychological warfare broadcasts added.

BY LIM JEONG-WON, LEE YOO-JUNG [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]