By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
The Army has installed two loudspeakers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in preparation to resume its psychological warfare against North Korea, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.
The ministry last month announced plans to restart loudspeaker broadcasts of news and propaganda near the border as part of the retaliation for the sinking of the Navy ship Cheonan in March.
The plan was withdrawn temporarily, however, in order not to ratchet up tension on the Korean Peninsula, as the Seoul government was pushing to take the issue to the United Nations Security Council.
When the speakers will actually be used in propaganda has not yet been fixed, an official said.
"Two loudspeakers have been set up and more will be ready by Wednesday," a ministry official said, adding military units near the border have been placed on high alert.
North Korea threatened to fire at loudspeakers should the South start blaring propaganda across the border.
The South Korean military is preparing other psychological warfare operations, including erecting electronic billboards along the border and dropping propaganda leaflets by balloons.