South Korea is set to begin loudspeaker broadcasts targeting North Korea on Sunday, a move its National Security Council claims will be "unbearable" for the regime of Kim Jong Un. This decision follows North Korea's resumption of sending trash-filled balloons across the border.


The Council convened on Sunday morning after dozens of these balloons were discovered in Seoul and border areas overnight.


"The measures we will implement may be unbearable for the North Korean regime, but they will offer a message of hope and light to the North's troops and its people," the Council stated.


In response to North Korea's trash balloons, South Korea has threatened to take "unendurable" actions, potentially including propaganda broadcasts from large loudspeakers positioned at the border. Pyongyang began sending these trash and manure-filled balloons in May as retaliation against anti-North Korean leaflets flown by South Korean activists as part of a propaganda campaign.



On June 2, North Korea announced a temporary halt to the balloon launches, claiming that the 15 tons of trash sent thus far were sufficient to convey the intended "unpleasant" message. However, it warned of resuming the campaign with even more trash if South Korean activists continued sending leaflets.


Defying this warning, a group of South Korean activists has continued to fly balloons carrying leaflets critical of Kim Jong Un, along with USB sticks containing K-pop videos and dramas, and U.S. dollar bills. North Korea has reacted aggressively to these leaflet campaigns and loudspeaker broadcasts in the past, at times even firing weapons at the balloons and speakers.


South Korea ceased its loudspeaker broadcasts under a 2018 agreement between the two Koreas' leaders, which aimed to usher in a new era of peace and reduce military tensions. However, relations have deteriorated since then, with North Korea advancing its ballistic missile program and declaring South Korea its "enemy number one." The North has also unveiled a range of weapons purportedly aimed at the South.


South Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts, transmitted from multiple speakers stacked in large racks, feature world news, information about democratic and capitalist societies, and popular K-pop music. The sound is believed to travel more than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) into North Korea. According to South Korea's military, the North launched approximately 330 trash-filled balloons starting Saturday, with around 80 landing in South Korea.