South Korea’s Defence Ministry on Thursday called on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to resume dialogue to prevent accidental military clashes along their shared border amid rising tensions over psychological warfare.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said during a press briefing that direct communication was necessary to address differences in perception and prevent unintended military confrontations.
Chung noted that the two Koreas were currently relying on public statements to communicate, indicating that all official inter-Korean military hotlines had been completely severed.
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The appeal followed a statement by Kim Yo Jong, a senior official of the Workers’ Party of Korea in the DPRK, who said on Wednesday that North Korea would use loudspeakers for psychological warfare against South Korea along the border this month.
Kim accused Seoul of resuming what she described as provocative loudspeaker broadcasts and firing shots at two or more locations on Wednesday.
The latest exchange highlights persistent tensions between the two countries, which remain divided along the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). The absence of direct military communication channels has raised concerns about the risk of misunderstandings and accidental confrontations along the border.
Both countries have previously used loudspeaker broadcasts to deliver political messages across the border, making the practice a recurring source of friction in inter-Korean relations.
