N. Korea appears to test propaganda loudspeakers along border

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to have conducted a test broadcast of its propaganda loudspeakers in areas along the inter-Korean border Thursday, a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister issued a warning.

Residents in the South Korean border city of Paju said that loudspeaker broadcasts from North Korea began at 6 a.m., adding the volume was relatively low, but the sounds were audible from the early morning.

"At 6:30 a.m., I heard music for a brief moment, followed by faint sounds resembling ghostly wails," said a resident of Daeseongdong, the only civilian village inside the Demilitarized Zone.

On Oct. 22, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, warned that propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea would be ready along the inter-Korean border within this month. Her warning came a day after she inspected the North's border fortification work and threatened to take military action against South Korean troops over their firing of warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing the border.

A resident of Tongilchon village in Paju said he heard broadcasts from the North, including sounds resembling ghostly wails and animal cries while harvesting rice Thursday morning.

"The volume was not very high, but it was the same unsettling, unpleasant noise the North used to broadcast years ago. In the past, they would start quietly before suddenly turning up the volume, causing great distress to the residents," said the resident surnamed Park.

The North's broadcasts reportedly continued for about four to five hours.