What really is the point of cross border propaganda broadcasts?

Posted on : 2015-08-23 07:11 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
South and North Korea both blaring their own propaganda toward the other side, raising tensions while accomplishing little else

What is so disturbing about the propaganda being broadcast by the South Korean military that it would impel North Korea to risk making an artillery strike?

On Aug. 10, South Korean troops set up loudspeakers at two sites in Gyeonggi Province – Yeoncheon County and Paju – and began broadcasting propaganda. Currently, 11 front-line divisions are broadcasting these messages into North Korea.

The loudspeakers that the military is using consist of 40 or so high-output 500 watt digital speakers that are around 4m by 3m in size. During the day, the broadcasts can be heard more than 10km away in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. At night, the sound carries as far as 24km.

At the moment, the messages are broadcast intermittently. North Korea also began broadcasting propaganda into South Korea on Aug. 17. Since North Korea is using antiquated analogue loudspeakers, its broadcasts are reportedly hard to even understand in South Korea.

The broadcasts that the South Korean military is sending into North Korea typically are not very political, focusing more on news in North and South Korea, world affairs, and the weather. One female defector from North Korea also takes part in the broadcasts, telling the story of how she defected and talking about her life in South Korea.

But the fact that South Korea could use the broadcasts to criticize the North Korean regime if it so chose appears to be putting pressure on North Korea.

The South Korean military and conservative organizations suggest that the very fact that Pyongyang resorted to provocations such as firing artillery after just ten days of the broadcasts is evidence of their effectiveness. The broadcasts are breaking the will of North Korean troops to fight and undermining the government’s control, they say.

But experts on North Korea say that the broadcasts should be discontinued, contending that the damage they have on inter-Korean relations outweighs their benefits.

“The reason that North Korea fired artillery shells is not because the psychological warfare is effective but because they regard it as blasphemy against the regime. There are no examples of North Korean civilians or soldiers defecting to South Korea en masse. If anything, it provides the regime with a reason to beef up its ideological education,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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