North and South Korea trade propaganda blows amid rising tensions

The "exchange of courtesies" continues between North Korea and South Korea. First, the North Korean services showered South Koreans with a heap of garbage carried by balloons. In response, South Korea activated propaganda loudspeakers that had been silent for years in the demilitarized zone.

This marks another escalation in the strained relations between North Korea and South Korea. The thaw from a few years ago is no longer a consideration. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un increasingly talks about a possible outbreak of war between the countries.

Discussions about national reunification have ceased, and even maintaining neutral diplomatic relations between the countries seems out of reach. Recent events and increased tension at the border underscore this point.

First, at the end of May and beginning of June, North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying waste into South Korea. According to the regime, this was a retaliatory response to activists who sent propaganda leaflets to North Korea.

In response to provocations from the Pyongyang dictatorship, the government in Seoul decided to reinstall loudspeakers in the demilitarized zone. These devices originally appeared right after the signing of the armistice in the Korean War in 1953.

The South Koreans use the loudspeakers to broadcast information from their country, informing about life in a democratic nation and promoting human rights content.

It should be noted that the loudspeakers will appear at the border for the first time since 2018. They were dismantled as part of agreements between the governments in Seoul and Pyongyang and the thaw between these countries.

Now, the influential sister of the dictator, Kim Yo Jong, explains that peace is not an option, and the situation at the border is currently "very dangerous."