Border broadcasts condemned by residents who want to 'sleep peacefully,' work without fear

Amid growing concerns that North Korea may resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South, residents living near the Civilian Control Line in Paju, Gyeonggi, urged authorities in both Koreas to halt propaganda broadcasts and refrain from actions that could escalate military tensions.

“Authorities in both Koreas must put the daily lives and right to livelihood of residents first,” residents from the Association of Border Villages of Korea (translated) said in a press conference Monday morning at the southern end of Tongil Bridge in Paju.  About 10 residents of Tongil Village and Haemaru Village, both members of the Association of Border Villages of Korea, attended the press conference.

The loudspeakers, set up along the border, have been used by the two Koreas to blast propaganda at each other. Seoul’s broadcasts have featured K-pop, news and messages criticizing the North Korean regime, while the North most recently responded with jarring noises such as howling animals and metal grinding.

The association's concerns come after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened last week to resume North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South by the end of this month.

The two Koreas stopped their latest loudspeaker broadcasts in June 2025, after the newly inaugurated Lee Jae Myung administration halted Seoul’s propaganda broadcasts in a bid to ease tensions, and the North ended its noise broadcasts soon after. Border tensions have since increased amid North Korean troops’ repeated crossings of the military demarcation line during border fortification work and a land mine blast in September that seriously wounded three South Korean soldiers.

“Trading insults and raising voices through loudspeakers cannot resolve conflicts between the two Koreas,” the residents said in a statement. “The vicious cycle in which one side starts broadcasting and the other retaliates with even louder broadcasts only heightens military tensions and threatens the peaceful daily lives of residents near the front line.”

Park Kyeong-ho, chair of the association's operating committee, recalled the noise and anxiety residents endured during previous loudspeaker broadcasts. 

“We remember the days when we could barely sleep because of the noise that continued day and night, and when we had to worry about the possibility of military clashes even as we went about our work,” Park said.

“We have endured inconvenience and made sacrifices because we believed they were necessary for national security, but the sacrifices of border residents must not be taken for granted indefinitely."

While acknowledging the importance of national security, the residents argued that the burden of military and political decisions made by authorities in both Koreas should not fall disproportionately on those living near the border.

They called on both Koreas to halt loudspeaker broadcasts directed at each other and refrain from actions that could heighten military tensions. They also urged the government to prioritize the safety and livelihoods of border residents.

“What we want is nothing extraordinary,” the residents said. “We simply want to sleep peacefully at night and go to work during the day without fear.

“The daily lives of border residents must not become a tool in a power struggle between the two Koreas.”

BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]