DMZ residents suffer from North Korean loudspeakers, blame defector groups

Residents of villages located within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and Civilian Control Line areas of Paju, Gyeonggi, are suffering due to North Korea’s loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South.

Residents from villages in and around the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Paju, Gyeonggi, share their grievances with Mayor Kim Kyung-il about the damage caused by North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts at a civil defense shelter in Imjingak tourist attraction in Gyeonggi. [PAJU CITY GOVERNMENT]

Residents of villages located within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and Civilian Control Line areas of Paju, Gyeonggi, are suffering due to North Korea’s loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South.

Around 30 residents expressed their grievances during a town hall held on Friday at a civil defense shelter in the Imjingak tourist attraction area in Paju, near the inter-Korean border.

"The noise from North Korea's broadcasts has made everyday life impossible,” said a 76-year-old person surnamed Jung, a resident of Daeseong-dong, a village located in the northernmost part of the DMZ.

“The constant noise is so disruptive that we can’t even talk to one another, and it's impossible to sleep at night," Jung said. "Taking sleeping pills and sedatives doesn't help, and when I tried using earplugs, my ears became infected and inflamed."

Tensions have escalated significantly in the border area of Paju recently due to activities such as balloon launches by North Korean defector groups from the South, the spreading of waste-filled balloons from North Korea and mutual loudspeaker broadcasts by both South Korean and North Korean military forces.

Residents from the villages in Paju, Gyeonggi's demilitarized zone (DMZ) and Civilian Control Line share their grievances with Mayor Kim Kyung-il about the damage caused by North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts at the civil defense shelter in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi. [PAJU CITY GOVERNMENT]

The North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts, ongoing since Sept. 28, have been described by residents as "the loudest ever." The sounds include eerie noises such as howling from foxes, wild dogs and crows, the scraping of metal and the grinding of machinery, leading many residents to suffer from insomnia and neurosis.

South Korean military officials told reporters in September that they are investigating the possibility that the noise pollution from the North is a form of retaliation against loudspeaker broadcasts from the South, which resumed in July.

However, they also did not rule out the possibility that the North may also be using the screeching sounds to prevent its own people from hearing South Korean broadcasts.

"Let anyone come here and spend just one night,” one resident tearfully pleaded. “It’s unbearable. Please help us."

"I’ve lived here for over 50 years since moving into Daeseong-dong village to marry, and there has never been a single peaceful day,” another resident said. “But this year has been the hardest. The worst part is that there seems to be no sign of improvement, and that’s what makes it even more painful."

The residents emphasized that preventing balloon launches by defector groups is their top priority.

"They say the balloon launches are for the freedom of expression of North Korean defectors and to promote the human rights of North Korean residents,” said Lee Wan-bae, the village leader of Tongil-chon, another village in the northernmost part of the DMZ.

“But do the residents in the Civilian Control Line not have human rights?" The Civilian Control Line was drawn in 1954 just below the demilitarized zone to protect military facilities and operations. Civilians who wish to enter the region have to go through a security clearance.

"The anxiety and suffering of the residents are intensifying, and this is a serious situation where their safety and lives are at risk,” Paju Mayor Kim Kyung-il said. “We will fully utilize the local government’s authority to actively monitor and crack down on the balloon launches" by defector groups, he said.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]