Kim Yo Jong threatens South Korea with reprisals and announces the reactivation of North Korean loudspeakers along the border

Raluca Ioana Draghici

22 October 2026, 07:23

International

STR / AFP / Profimedia

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North Korea is threatening South Korea with military reprisals and announcing the reactivation of propaganda loudspeakers along the border by the end of October. The warning was issued by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after a visit to border fortifications alongside senior military commanders.

Kim Yo Jong said the new loudspeakers had already been positioned and would be prepared for activation. She warned Seoul that it would face “the most horrific and disturbing situations” if it continued what Pyongyang considers interference in North Korea’s internal affairs.

The reaction came after Pyongyang accused South Korean troops of carrying out warning shots in several border areas. Seoul confirmed the actions but described them as legitimate and defensive measures. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announced that it would respond proportionally if the North Korean threats were carried out.

Kim Yo Jong said South Korean forces would be eliminated “without mercy” if the warning shots caused damage in North Korea or injured North Korean soldiers. Tensions have risen following the explosion of a North Korean mine in the Demilitarized Zone, which injured three South Korean soldiers. The United Nations Command described the incident as a violation of the armistice.

The threats complicate South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to reduce tensions. In 2025, his administration halted South Korean broadcasts and began dismantling fixed loudspeakers along the border, after which Pyongyang suspended its own broadcasts. Bilateral relations remain strained after North Korea abandoned reunification and called the South “its principal enemy.”

Context: before the threats involving loudspeakers, the DMZ mine dispute once again escalated tensions between the two Koreas

Before the announcement regarding propaganda measures at the border, tensions focused on the explosion of a mine in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on September 21, in which three South Korean soldiers were injured. The Seoul military apologized, but accused North Korea of having planted mines on the southern side of the demarcation line, in violation of the armistice; Pyongyang denied this and called the incident a “self-orchestrated hoax”.

South Korea reported that the investigation, conducted jointly with the UN Command, initially indicated North Korean mines, and that a subsequent inspection uncovered another active mine in the same area. Later, North Korea rejected the accusations and warned that it would retaliate if Seoul opened fire on North Korean troops.