South Korea's Unification Ministry said the fundamental solution to North Korea's repeated warnings that it will restart loudspeaker broadcasts is to align the two Koreas' positions on the Military Demarcation Line and to set up a communication channel for managing peace as soon as possible. Any countermeasures, the ministry said, will be decided through consultations with related government agencies.
"Acts that violate the armistice agreement around the MDL and raise the risk of tension and clashes must stop immediately," the ministry said on the 22nd. It also called on North Korea to "halt its threats against us and work toward an effective resolution of the issue." Kim Yo-jong, director of the general affairs department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, said the same day that "new means of response" had entered standby along the entire border and claimed that loudspeakers aimed at the South would also be placed on standby within days.
A ministry official said a response to any North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts "will be decided through consultations with related agencies." The official added that if both sides resume loudspeaker broadcasts, residents of border areas will again suffer considerable harm, heightening concerns about a clash between the two Koreas.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim again defended the fortification of the border, saying, "We are not committing 'provocations' but making a legitimate response." Kim went on to warn that if the South commits even a momentary "mistake" out of pathological bravado, whether intentional or not, it would have to be prepared for anything.