Military says it will respond decisively to further provocations as North Korea raises resuming loudspeaker broadcasts to the South

[Financial News] On the 20th, the Ministry of National Defense warned in response to a North Korean statement issued on the 19th that criticized the South Korean military’s warning shots in response to North Korean troops’ incursion across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and raised the possibility of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts to the South: “If further provocations are carried out under the pretext of our legitimate measures, we will punish them decisively.”
In a position statement distributed to the media that day regarding the statement made on the 19th by Kim Yo Jong, a Workers’ Party department director, the Ministry of National Defense said, “We express grave concern over the criticism of our military’s legitimate operations under the Armistice Agreement and the escalation of tensions through military threats,” and issued the warning.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung also said of Kim Yo Jong’s statement during a visit that day to the forward headquarters of the 5th Corps, which is responsible for the central front, that it was “unacceptable.” He pointed out that it “labeled our legitimate operational measures as provocations and, in a brazen reversal of blame, shifted responsibility for heightened military tensions onto our military.”
He said the military had consistently and firmly responded, in accordance with principles and standards, to violations of the Armistice Agreement, including North Korea’s incursions across the MDL. He instructed, “If the enemy commits further provocations under the pretext of our military’s legitimate measures, respond decisively.”
The meeting was attended by the commander of the Ground Operations Command and forward corps commanders, among others. Jin assessed the continued activity of North Korean troops near the MDL following a landmine explosion involving North Korean troops in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last month, and reviewed operational response plans. He also ordered that the “Operation to Strengthen the Initiative in the DMZ” be carried out.
The government also signaled that if North Korea resumes broadcasts to the South, it could consider resuming loudspeaker broadcasts to the North—which it has so far deemed to have limited effectiveness—as a “proportionate response.” This stance is understood as a response to the previous day’s statement by Kim Yo Jong, a Workers’ Party department director about “considering the issue of resuming loudspeaker broadcasts to South Korea.”


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