BYSEOUL, South Korea — Mammoth South Korean loudspeakers blaring BTS music. Large North Korean balloons carrying manure, cigarette butts and waste batteries. Small South Korean civilian leaflets slamming North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
South Korean officials say the ear-piercing broadcasts were retaliation against North Korea's recent series of balloon launches that dumped trash into South Korea, though it suffered no major damages. The North says its balloon campaign was a tit-for-tat action against South Korean activists flying political leaflets critical of its leadership across the border.
Whose loudspeakers are better?South Korean officials have previously said broadcasts from their loudspeakers can travel about 10 kilometers during the day and 24 kilometers at night. They said past North Korean broadcasts from its loudspeakers were not clearly audible in South Korean areas. Kim since the pandemic has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language amongst his population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule.