North Korea says it will place loudspeakers along the entire border as Seoul urges dialogue

22 October 2026

North Korea has said it plans to resume broadcasting anti-South Korea propaganda along the armed border between the two countries, while Seoul urged Pyongyang to discuss easing tensions. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on October 21, 2026 that North Korea will place loudspeakers along the entire border, after visiting fortifications along the frontier with Pak Jong-chon. She said in a follow-up statement on October 22 that the loudspeakers would be on standby within days and that new counter means would be placed on alert. Tensions rose after a landmine blast last month wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone; Seoul and the United Nations Command, which oversees the 1953 armistice, concluded it was a North Korean anti-personnel mine and an armistice violation, which Pyongyang denied. North Korea has laid mines, strung barbed wire and erected anti-tank barriers along the 250 km military demarcation line.