South Korea has delayed plans to begin anti-North Korea propaganda. Experts speculated that two factors - the safety of South Koreans working at the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North and rising tensions on the peninsula - probably prompted the government to weigh the timing of the execution of the psychological operations (PSYOPs).The Ministry of National Defence on Sunday put off plans to drop anti-North Korea leaflets that were originally scheduled to be distributed across the border late last week. Earlier, military authorities announced they would resume PSYOPs aimed at “sowing the seed of doubt” among North Korean residents, with the spread of propaganda leaflets and radio broadcasts via loudspeakers near the Military Demarcation Line. South Korea halted PSYOPs in 2004 when the late former President Roh Moo-hyun was in office, following the repeated requests from the North during military talks.
Today, the defence ministry also hinted at delaying the plan to broadcast the “Voice of Freedom” programme over loudspeakers. The project was scheduled to be implemented in early June. “We will consider several factors before going ahead with the resumption of the anti-North Korean propaganda project. The military will decide later when to commence those measures,” a military source said on condition of anonymity.
The announcement came after concerns about the safety of South Korean workers at the Gaeseong complex were raised. Last week, North Korea issued multiple statements, threatening to close the Gaeseong project if South Korea resumes the PSYOP and to fire at the loudspeakers that were to be set up near the border. The North’s military also warned they would not guarantee the safety of South Koreans crossing the border, which was ensured under the military accords signed between the two sides in the past.
(Source: Korea Times/Radio Netherlands Media Network Weblog)