Kim Yo-jong says North Korea's loudspeakers aimed at the South will be on standby "in a matter of days"

As of 8:39 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Thursday that propaganda loudspeakers aimed at South Korea would be ready within days and warned of "new counter means" along the inter-Korean border, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Our new counter means will get into the alert for duty at all the southern border line and the loudspeakers against the ROK will be on standby in a matter of days," Kim said in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, according to Yonhap and Reuters. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.

She said completing North Korea's border fortifications would "considerably" lower the risk of military conflict, but warned South Korea would "face the most horrible and distressing situation" if it made a "mistake," whether intentional or not, Yonhap reported. Reuters also reported the "most horrible and distressing situation" warning.

South Korea's response

"No movement to install new weapons or systems has been identified," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Capt. Jang Do-young told a briefing, according to Yonhap. Jang said the military had seen North Korean forces carrying out routine maintenance on front-line loudspeakers even before Kim's latest statements.

"North Korea must stop making groundless claims and incursions across the MDL, and positively respond to our effort to bridge the differences," defense ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said, Yonhap reported. The MDL is the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas.

Background

Kim's statement came a day after she inspected North Korean border fortification work and said Pyongyang would resume loudspeaker broadcasts later this month, Yonhap reported. North Korean troops working on the fortifications have repeatedly moved close to or crossed the MDL, prompting South Korean warning broadcasts and warning shots. Kim also told Kim Byung-joo, a South Korean special presidential adviser for defense policy who had criticized the loudspeaker threat, to "shut his mouth at once," according to Yonhap.

What is not known

The statement, as reported by Yonhap, did not describe what the "new counter means" are.