North Korea says loudspeakers aimed at South Korea will be placed on standby within days, a step toward a broader plan for broadcasts along the border in October.
In an Oct. 22 statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo-jong said other “responsive means” would also be put on alert along the southern border. She said the speakers would reach standby “in a matter of days,” but gave no calendar date or deployment locations.
A day earlier, Kim outlined a separate goal: broadcasts across the full border before October ends. That statement also described tactical teams moving to new positions. The latest notice adds a nearer readiness stage to Kim’s October operating target.
Kim presented the plan as a response to what she alleged were South Korean warning broadcasts and warning shots at two or more places on Oct. 21. That account appeared in North Korea’s statement.
The two Koreas also dispute responsibility for a mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone on Sept. 21 that injured three South Korean soldiers. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said an inquiry with the United Nations Command concluded that North Korean antipersonnel mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line caused the explosion. North Korea denied responsibility in a Sept. 30 KCNA statement.
South Korea stopped its own border broadcasts in June 2025 and began removing the equipment on Aug. 4, 2025. Its government described the removal as a step to ease tensions. The Associated Press and The Korea Times reported that Seoul resumed broadcasts in 2015 after mine blasts injured two soldiers, following an 11-year pause.
The statements announce future readiness and operation; they do not confirm that broadcasts have restarted. North Korea’s stated benchmarks are standby within days and operation along the border in October, with no more specific start date or broadcast details given.
