Overview

• Kim Yo Jong stated North Korea has never removed its border loudspeakers and refuses any such action, contradicting South Korean military reports of reciprocal withdrawals.
• She announced Pyongyang will enshrine its refusal to improve relations with Seoul in the constitution, marking a formal stance of non-engagement.
• Seoul initiated the dismantling of its own loudspeakers on August 5 as a practical confidence-building step under President Lee Jae-myung’s outreach policy.
• South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff claimed North Korean forces began removing their speakers days after Seoul’s announcement, but no independent verification has been achieved.
• The US-South Korea annual military exercises are scheduled for August 18–28, and Seoul says it will press ahead with normalization efforts despite Pyongyang’s denial.