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

Experts divided over effectiveness of loudspeaker use

By Kang Seung-woo

The resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts has been emerging as a possible counter-measure in response to North Korea's security threats as South Korea has limited options to take in response to the North's recent use of drones to cross the inter-Korean border, infiltrating the South for the first time in five years.

The South Korean military used to operate propaganda broadcast posts along the border as a key part of its psychological warfare tactics against North Korea. The broadcast messages were mainly critical of the North Korean regime, leading Pyongyang to express strong opposition to such tactics, apparently concerned about the possible effects they might have on its military and people. The use of the loudspeakers has been suspended since the inter-Korean summit in April 2018.

"What Kim Jong-un fears the most are loudspeaker broadcasts targeting North Korean soldiers deployed on the border," Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the ruling People Power Party said last week.

The audio messages can be heard some 10 kilometers into Gaeseong in the daytime and for 24 kilometers at night, according to the South Korean military.

"History has proven that loudspeaker broadcasting to North Korea is the quickest and most effective way to peacefully manage the situation along the border and deter war," the defector-turned-politician added.

In the wake of North Korea's landmine attack in the Demilitarized Zone that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers in August 2015, the South Korean military resumed broadcasting propaganda directed to the North ― for the first time in 11 years.

While North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared a "quasi-state of war" in frontline areas at that time, Pyongyang offered high-level inter-Korean talks, where Pyongyang expressed regret for the mine explosions in exchange for Seoul's suspension of propaganda broadcasts.

Previously, the lawmaker also proposed that South Korea resume the use of loudspeaker broadcasts as part of efforts to prevent North Korea from conducting a seventh nuclear test in advance by preemptively warning its resumption to the North in the event of another nuclear test.

Cha Du-hyeogn, a principal fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, also said the government needs to consider the option.

"We can respond to the drone infiltrations in the same way, but exploring options that North Korea is the most fearful of, they are loudspeaker broadcasts and propaganda leaflets. We need to consider resuming them in this case," he said in a recent radio interview.

The loudspeaker broadcasts have 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, former President Moon Jae-in and the North Korean leader held a summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom on the inter-Korean border, April 27, 2018, where they agreed 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.

Another barrier to resuming the propaganda broadcasts is the so-called "anti-leaflet law" that prohibits the launching of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, with violators subject to a maximum prison term of three years or a fine of 30 million won ($23,000).

In that regard, President Yoon Suk-yeol called the law "a wrong decision" when he was the president-elect, while Unification Minister Kwon Young-se also said in an opinion submitted to the Constitutional Court that the law is unconstitutional and restricts freedom of expression and political activities.

However, Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, questioned if loudspeaker broadcasting will be effective in defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"The South Korean government's stance is focused on deescalating tensions and deterring provocations, but loudspeaker broadcasting may provide an excuse for North Korea to make further provocations, so I think it would be better no to resume it preemptively," Shin said.