＜Inside N. Korea＞ 'Don't say anything about S. Korean propaganda leaflets and broadcasts,'… Orders to soldiers on the front line

North Korean authorities strictly control soldiers working near the military demarcation line to ensure that they do not reveal the content of South Korean propaganda broadcasts or beepers. A soldier who was discharged from the military in August and returned to his hometown in the northern part of the country told his family the details of what he had heard. (KANG Ji-won)

◆ Warning of punishment for disseminating what you see and hear as anti-socialist behavior

In response to South Korean civilian organizations sending balloons to North Korea, North Korea began releasing “garbage balloons” filled with human waste in late May. In response, South Korea resumed propaganda broadcasts using large loudspeakers in June for the first time in six years. The content includes news and K-pop songs.

Kim Jong Un's regime is extremely wary of the influx and spread of South Korean information, and reportedly requires soldiers stationed near the military demarcation line, where South Korean propaganda broadcasts can be heard, to sign a pledge that they will never tell anyone what they hear on the broadcasts or the loudspeakers.

One of ASIAPRESS’s reporting partners in the northern part of the country recounted what the son of an acquaintance, who was discharged from the frontline in August, said:

“There are many soldiers who get in trouble for humming or humming South Korean songs that are played on the radio. The unit would create trend data on attitudes toward the broadcast, report it to the military security command (the military's political police organization), and often transfer the offending soldier to a unit in a different area.

“And when discharged from the military, those who served in areas where there was a lot of 'enemy fire' - or where South Korean broadcasts could be heard - were warned that if they disseminated what they saw or heard to others, they would be punished as anti-socialists.”

◆ The front line is full of landmines... Soldiers are afraid.

The soldier also told his family about the fear of landmines. He said that near the Demilitarized Zone, all the roads leading to military guard posts are lined with mines, and even if a shell flies by and falls in South Korea, the soldiers are often too scared to go retrieve it.

According to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, North Korea has been actively laying mines near the military demarcation line since April of this year, resulting in a number of accidents in which soldiers have been killed by explosions. The mines appear to be aimed at preventing civilians, including soldiers, from defecting to South Korea.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.