North Korea Fires on South Korean Loudspeakers, Tensions Rise

In August 2015, tensions flared along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) when North Korea fired artillery shells toward South Korean loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts. The broadcasts, which blasted anti-North Korean messages and news into the North, had been restarted by Seoul following a landmine explosion earlier that month, which injured two South Korean soldiers. The artillery exchange occurred during the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which Pyongyang frequently condemned as provocations. In response to the shelling, South Korea returned fire with dozens of artillery rounds, escalating the crisis. After days of heightened military alert and intense negotiations, the two Koreas reached an agreement on August 25, 2015. South Korea agreed to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, while North Korea expressed regret over the landmine incident. The agreement helped de-escalate the immediate crisis, but military tensions between the two nations remained high.