Anchor: In an apparent follow up to a statement by the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, North Korean soldiers are reinstalling propaganda loudspeakers near the inter-Korean border. South Korea's Defense Ministry was cautious when asked how it is going to respond if the North resumes psychological warfare operations along the border.
Kim Bum-soo has more.    

Report: A day after the North Korean military started to reinstall propaganda loudspeakers along the demilitarized zone(DMZ), the South Korean military warned North Korea to stop. 

[Sound bite: Defense Ministry Spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo (Korean/English translation)]
"Our (South Korean) military is monitoring the North Korean military around the clock and maintaining a firm readiness posture. Please understand that we cannot tell you in detail about the North Korean military situation. However, I have already said before that North Korea will pay if it commits any acts that can thwart the inter-Korean effort to improve relations and maintain peace on the Korean peninsula."  

Defense Ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo said the military is "fully ready to immediately respond to various possibilities," but refused to elaborate.  

[Sound bite: Defense Ministry Spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo (Korean/English translation)]
(Reporter: If North Korea violates the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration, will our military observe this declaration?) 
"The efforts put forth by the South and the North for peace on the Korean Peninsula must be respected." 

Stopping leaflet campaigns and removing DMZ loudspeakers were agreements under the Panmunjeom Declaration, which President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed during their first summit in April of 2018. 

Seoul faces a predicament as restarting its own DMZ psychological warfare operations(PSYOP) would violate the agreement

Under the pact, North Korea removed half of its roughly 40 PSYOP loudspeakers along the inner-Korean border. According to government sources on Tuesday, the North Korean military completed reestablishing loudspeakers at some 20 locations. 

The North is expected to resume propaganda broadcasts and send anti-Seoul leaflets south of the border once the ruling party's Central Military Commission gives the green light. 

Frustrated by persistent enforcement of UN and U.S. sanctions, North Korea started to denounce anti-Pyongyang leaflets campaigns by defectors-turned activists in South Korea. North Korea last week destroyed a joint inter-Korean liaison office in its border town of Gaesong, vowing to take military actions across the border region.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.