Kim Yo Jong says North Korea will ready new military assets and loudspeakers on border
In short
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said new North Korean military assets will be on full combat readiness along the border with South Korea and that loudspeakers aimed at the South will be made ready within days. The statement was carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and reported by Russian outlets on 22 October. She also said South Korean authorities must be ready for anything.
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Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a department head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said that North Korea will bring military assets and loudspeakers on its border with South Korea to readiness. Russian outlets reported the statement on 22 October, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
According to the quote carried by RIA Novosti and Kommersant, "our new retaliatory means will be in full combat readiness along the entire border line, and loudspeakers against the Republic of Korea will be made ready within several days." Interfax gave the wording as new countermeasure means to be readied for service along the whole southern border line. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Kim Yo Jong defended North Korea's border fortification work. Interfax quoted her as saying that if the border line becomes a fortress, the danger of a military clash will be significantly reduced and many complex problems will be resolved. RIA Novosti reported a similar remark. Kommersant wrote that she spoke during a visit to fortifications in the border zone, and that North Korean tactical units have already taken new positions. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
She told South Korean authorities to be ready for anything in the event of an intentional or unintentional mistake. Interfax quoted her: "If the current ruling authorities keep on blathering, carping and being stubborn, they will fall into the most dire and difficult position. This is not a threat but an obvious warning." RIA Novosti added that she said North Korea will respond justly to actions in border areas. [ 1 , 2 ]
Interfax recalled an earlier KCNA statement in which Kim Yo Jong said the situation near the southern border was very unstable and blamed South Korean authorities. She said South Korea had carried out warning loudspeaker broadcasts since August and threatened the safety of North Korean soldiers with warning shots from an automatic rifle and a heavy machine gun. She said the North Korean military was considering preventive and suppressive measures, including deploying tactical strike assets and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts against the South. [ 2 ]
Kommersant said Seoul responded that the shots were warning shots and described them as lawful and defensive measures. It reported that Kim Yo Jong threatened ruthless destruction of South Korean forces in case of damage on North Korean territory. [ 3 ]
RIA Novosti reported that in September 2026 mine explosions in the demilitarized zone injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul blamed North Korea, and Kim Yo Jong rejected the accusations, calling the incident a provocation. Both RIA Novosti and Kommersant said South Korea stopped propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border in June 2025 as part of efforts to reduce tension. Kommersant added that Pyongyang halted its own broadcasts in response. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The statement follows weeks of mutual accusations over the border, including mine explosions in September that injured three South Korean soldiers, according to RIA Novosti. Kommersant says South Korea halted its own loudspeaker broadcasts in June 2025 to reduce tension, so a resumption would reverse that step.
Key facts
- Kim Yo Jong, a department head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said new North Korean assets will be in full combat readiness along the whole border line. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- She said loudspeakers directed against South Korea will be made ready within several days, according to a statement distributed by KCNA. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- She said turning the border line into a fortress would significantly reduce the danger of military clashes. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Interfax quoted her as saying that if the current South Korean authorities keep carping and being stubborn, they will end up in a most dire and difficult position, and that this is not a threat but an obvious warning. [ 2 ]
- RIA Novosti reported that in September 2026 mine explosions in the demilitarized zone injured three South Korean soldiers and that Seoul blamed North Korea. [ 1 ]
- South Korea stopped propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts on the border in June 2025, according to RIA Novosti and Kommersant. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Kim Yo Jong said, in a statement distributed by KCNA, that new North Korean assets will be on full readiness along the border and loudspeakers against South Korea will be made ready within several days. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kim Yo Jong said that turning the border line into a fortress would significantly reduce the danger of a military clash. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- South Korea ended propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts on the border in June 2025. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- What exactly the new military assets are. RIA Novosti and Kommersant call them new retaliatory means and Interfax calls them new countermeasure means; none of the documents describes them.
- Whether the loudspeakers have already begun broadcasting. Interfax's lead says they are starting work, while the quoted statement in all three documents says they will be made ready within several days.
- The nature of the South Korean shots near the border. Kim Yo Jong, per Interfax, described warning shots from an automatic rifle and a heavy machine gun as a serious threat to North Korean soldiers; Kommersant says Seoul called them lawful and defensive warning shots.