South Korea conducts loudspeaker broadcasts at North Korea

SEOUL - South Korea's military said on July 19 it had conducted a loudspeaker broadcast campaign directed at North Korea overnight in response to the launch of balloons by Pyongyang carrying rubbish aimed at the South.

The loudspeaker broadcasts and the balloons,

which have also been launched by South Korean activists over the years sending anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets, have been a new source of tension between the two Koreas.

Since May, North Korea has been floating thousands of balloons with bags of rubbish attached to them, carried by wind to the South and dropping in civilian neighbourhoods, causing some property damage.

After repeated warnings to stop sending rubbish, South Korea's military resumed broadcasts using large loudspeakers set up at the border directed at the North, blaring propaganda, world news and K-pop music.

North Korea has shown some of the angriest reactions towards the leaflet campaign and the loudspeaker broadcasts.

The broadcasts, considered by military officials and activists as an effective form of psychological warfare, were stopped under a peace agreement signed in 2018, which both sides have declared null as tensions rose. REUTERS