In this morning’s joint press conference hosted by the South Korean Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Unification and National Defense, Minister of National Defense Kim Tae Young confirmed, “Psychological warfare will be resumed” as part of the administration’s package of counter-measures following the Cheonan incident.
On June 4th, 2004, North and South Korea agreed to suspend propaganda across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and prevent accidental clashes between the two sides in the West Sea, while on the 15th of the same month the South stopped loudspeaker broadcasting towards North Korea.
According to the revival of the program, the South Korean military is planning to erect loudspeakers along the 150 miles of the MDL. Afterward, FM broadcasts will be conducted across the area of North Korea adjacent to the MDL.
As the reason for the resumption of psychological warfare, Kim explained, “It is to make North Korea recognize that its illegal activities will definitely have consequences, and to eradicate North Korea’s additional provocative intentions.”
Alongside a ban on North Korean ships passing through the Jeju Strait by the Ministry of Unification, Kim added, “Entry of North Korean shipping into our territorial waters will be forbidden, and if they do try, we will expel them.”
He explained the reason, “The purpose of that measure is to root out North Korean plots to uncover information on our waters and operational environment and… maritime infiltration into our bays camouflaged as commercial ships.”
The Ministry of National Defense will organize ROK-U.S. combined forces training to cope with submarines in the near future and to hinder the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, a commander in the North Korean People’s Army stated, “If South Korea establishes new psychological warfare services, we will fire against them in order to eliminate them,” according to a report carried by the Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA).
“If South Korea reacts to our fair response, their reaction will result in more powerful physical blows to remove the ground from under the (South’s) provocations.”
