South Korean soldiers dismantle loudspeakers in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this May 2018 photo. Joint Press Corps

By Kang Seung-woo

The issue of propaganda loudspeakers along the border may re-emerge as an area of disagreement between South and North Korea, in the wake of Pyongyang's claim that Seoul has resumed the use of loudspeaker broadcasts.

Diplomatic observers say the loudspeaker issue could ratchet up tensions further on the Korean Peninsula.

On Monday, while accusing a South Korean naval ship of intruding in its waters, North Korea claimed that the South Korean military has been staging provocations recently, including loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

However, the Ministry of National Defense said it is no longer operating loudspeakers along the border. Later it added that the South Korean military had recently used a similar broadcasting device ― installed at guard posts ― to notify helicopters for mobilization in operations to put out wildfires or transport emergency patients, a defense official here said.

The loudspeaker issue has been a hot-button issue between South and North Korea, leading to many disputes over the decades. Both sides have deployed speakers to direct propaganda at one another, and the North Korean regime has on many occasions responded sensitively to the matter.

In that respect, the two Koreas agreed on May 1, 2018, to stop all hostile acts including loudspeaker broadcasting and the scattering of leaflets in areas along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to dismantle their means, and to transform the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a peace zone in a genuine sense.

"Some North Korean defectors send propaganda leaflets critical of the North Korean regime in a silent way, so I think its warning is aimed at preventing such anti-North Korea propaganda from negatively affecting its regime," said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher from the Korea Institute for National Unification.

Cho also said the former Moon Jae-in administration had been aggressive in keeping the leaflets in check to improve inter-Korean ties, but the current Yoon Suk-yeol government pays little attention to the issue.

"As the current ruling party does not like the anti-leaflet law, it does not care about overt propaganda leaflets if they are deployed legitimately," Cho said.

According to Cho, North Korea's response comes as the propaganda leaflet campaign can sometimes create a similar effect to what is happening in Iran, which is experiencing nationwide protests challenging Iran's authoritarian leadership.

"The North Korean regime is seriously worried about the leaflets because it may negatively affect the regime like the Iranian protests have been," he said.

In the past, the loudspeaker issue has been front and center between the two Koreas.

In 2015, the Kim Jong-un regime threatened to attack the loudspeakers unless the South Korean government stopped its propaganda broadcasts and dismantled the speakers.

The messages from the propaganda speakers, which are critical of the North Korean dictator and the political system of North Korea, are part of a psychological warfare program and Pyongyang has reacted sensitively to such tactics, apparently concerned about the possible effects it might have on its military and people.

The South Korean military said it was not operating the propaganda speakers, but if it resumes its propaganda campaign in accordance with the current circumstances then the situation on the Korean Peninsula could worsen.

"A possible resumption of the propaganda loudspeaker campaign could lead to strong protests from North Korea, which may deteriorate the situation on the peninsula," Cho said.

North Korea is believed to have fully prepared for its seventh nuclear test and many believe that its stirring up of the propaganda loudspeaker issue could serve as a justification for the provocation.

"North Korea's nuclear weapon is an asymmetric threat, so our response, which could match it, would be the loudspeaker campaign," Cho said.