By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff reporter
South Korea has taken a step back from its relentless efforts to pressure North Korea to take responsibility for the maritime tragedy by delaying 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 (PSYOP).
The Ministry of National Defense 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.
On Monday, the defense ministry also hinted at delaying the plan to broadcast the "Voice of Freedom" program 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.
Last week, South Korea announced a package of sanctions, including cutting South-North trade and the suspension of government-sponsored assistance programs for the North.
The tough measures came after a multinational investigation team charged North Korea with being responsible for sinking the warship Cheonan that killed 46 sailors.
Along with retaliatory measures at the national level, South Korea is also preparing to refer the maritime tragedy to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to force the North to face the consequences of their provocative act at an international level.
As tensions are mounting, concerns are growing, especially among South Korean businesses operating in the Gaeseong complex.
If the North closes the site, they will go out of business.
The possibility of the 500 South Korean workers in the North being held as hostages is high, too.
In an effort to prevent a worst-case scenario, owners of those businesses sat down with officials from the unification ministry twice last week to try and find solutions.
They asked the unification ministry to work closely together with the defense ministry to scrap the PSYOP plan as this stirs up the North and sets off retaliation tactics.
Experts said in the defense ministry's calculation ― rising tensions could lead the North, which is notorious for its brinkmanship diplomacy, to commit another provocative act ― this also influenced the decision to put off the plan to scatter anti-North Korea propaganda.