A North Korean guard post (C) in the border county of Kaepoong is seen from a South Korean observation post in the border city of Paju, on June 17, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

A South Korean military source says North Korea is reinstalling loudspeakers used to broadcast anti-South messages across the border, amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas.

The two neighbors have headed towards an escalation in recent weeks over Seoul’s failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets over the border.

A South Korean military official told Reuters on Tuesday that North Korea’s military was seen setting up loudspeakers near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.

The source added that Seoul was mulling reinstalling its own propaganda systems, even though he said the North hadn’t begun broadcasting yet.

The loudspeakers were taken down after the two Koreas signed a pact in 2018 to cease all hostile acts.

Speaking at a regular briefing, a spokeswoman for South Korea’s Defense Ministry declined to confirm the report, but warned that the country would have to pay for the consequences if it continues to defy joint efforts to reinforce peace.

North Korean media said on Monday that Pyongyang was prepared to launch thousands of retaliatory balloons carrying 12 million leaflets to its southern neighbor to make them pay dearly for their crime.

Pyongyang recently cut off all communication lines with the South and blew up a liaison office building near their joint border to signal its displeasure with the propaganda leaflets coming from the South.

SOURCE: PRESS TV