Kim Yo Jong says North Korea has not removed border loudspeakers

North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong on Thursday rejected South Korean claims that Pyongyang had begun removing propaganda loudspeakers along the border, arguing that the North has never taken them down and has no intention of doing so. The comments come as Seoul said it observed North Korean activity at the border that could indicate dismantling of some loudspeakers, hours after South Korea had removed its own border speakers in a bid to ease tensions. The exchange underscores the deep rift over whether tensions can be eased through dialogue, even as joint military planning between Seoul and Washington moves forward.

Kim Yo Jong, a senior ruling party official believed to articulate her brother’s position, issued a blistering rebuke to Seoul’s peace overtures. She said: “We have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them,” and accused Seoul of attempting to shape public opinion that inter-Korean relations are improving. She dismissed any suggestion that Pyongyang would respond to South Korea’s outreach as a “pipe dream,” and she asserted that the North’s stance toward the South remains unchanged. In a broader critique, she described South...