North Koreans don't know about Kim Jong Nam assassination. So the South will blare it to them, by loudspeaker
In North Korea, the Kim clan can do no wrong.
Its deceased Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il, was practically deified. Official accounts say he was born beneath a double rainbow — and his earthly arrival caused a new star to appear in the cosmos.
Dear Leader’s kids, however, could have used an extra helping of supernatural serenity. It appears Kim Jong Il’s oldest son was killed this week on the orders of his youngest son, the paranoid dictator Kim Jong Un.
Here are a few details you won’t hear on the Pyongyang nightly news.
The older brother — Kim Jong Nam, a family black sheep — was killed by female assassins.
The women, presumably deployed by the regime, struck their target on Feb. 13 inside a busy Malaysian airport. Kim Jong Nam was trying to check into a flight when he was squirted in the face with fast-acting poison. One of his suspected killers actually wore a shirt that read “LOL.”
Safe to say, these ugly details are not widely known inside North Korea. The nation is hermetically sealed off from most outside reports.
South Korean psy-ops agents, however, have found a way to penetrate that seal. Their method is fairly crude. They’ve simply lined up ultra-powerful loudspeakers along the chilly border with the North.
According to the outlet, The Chosun Ilbo, the South Korean military will use these speakers to blast news of the assassination into the country.
This is not a new technique. For years, South Koreans have sporadically cranked up these speakers to transmit inconvenient facts to their northern counterparts.
Each broadcast is meant to prune the thicket of state indoctrination, a web of myths planted in North Korean minds since childhood.
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South Korean army soldiers close a gate in Paju, near the border with North and South Korea, on Feb. 8, 2016. Ahn Young-joon, AP
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North Korean soldiers stand on the banks of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiju on Feb. 8, 2016. Johannes Eisele, AFP/Getty Images
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North Koreans clap at a rally after North Korea said it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
A North Korean soldier looks across the border with China from his post in Sakchu County, North Korea, Jan. 7, 2016. AP
North Korean veterans gather before the start of a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country was ready to stand up to any threat posed by the United States as he spoke at a lavish military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the North's ruling party and trumpet his third-generation leadership on Oct. 10, 2015. Maye-E Wong, AP
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North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un watches a military firing contest in a photo released Jan. 5, 2016. Reports did not specify when Kim viewed the contest, but it is presumed to be his first military-related field guidance of 2016. Rodong Sinmun via European Pressphoto Agency
North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Jan. 6, 2016. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
North Koreans watch a news broadcast on a video screen outside a Railway Station in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Jan. 6, 2016. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by commanding officers of the Korean People's Army, visit the Kumsusan Palace where his father, Kim Jong-Il, lies, on Dec 17, 2015. Korean Central News Agency via AFP/Getty Images
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This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sept. 5, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, at the Sinuiju Measuring Instrument Factory in North Pyongan Province. KCNA via AFP/Getty Images
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This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 18, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, visiting the Taedonggang Combined Fruit Farm in Pyongyang. KCNA via AFP/Getty Images
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A newlywed couple pose, during a photo shoot on Sijung Ho beach in North Korea, on Aug. 18, 2015. The couple gathered with their friends and family members to have their pictures taken after their wedding ceremony. Dita Alangkara, AP
People dance during the celebration of the Liberation Day as the portrait of North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il are seen in the background at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Aug. 15, 2015. Thousands of people take part in the celebration that commemorates the 17th anniversary of the liberation of the Koreas from Japanese colonial rule. Dita Alangkara, AP
North Korean soldiers watch as fireworks explode, July 27, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea, as part of celebrations for the 62nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Munsu Hill, July 27, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans gathered to offer flowers and pay their respects to their late leaders as part of celebrations for the 62nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. Wong Maye-E, AP
Staff wait at the check-in counters of the new international airport terminal building at Pyongyang airport, July 1, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The unveiling underscores an effort to attract more tourists and to spruce up the country ahead of the celebration of a major anniversary of the founding of its ruling Worker's Party in October this year. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
An Air Koryo plane sits on the tarmac in front of the new Pyongyang International Airport terminal building, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Air Koryo is the only carrier to have been awarded just one star in rankings released recently by the UK-based SkyTrax consultancy agency. Wong Maye-E, AP
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant "defend!" as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.," attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the "Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month" and it's a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment. Wong Maye-E, AP
A farmer stands in front of a field June 24, 2015, in South Hwanghae, North Korea. There has been almost no rain in this part of the country, according to farmers and local officials interviewed by the Associated Press. While the situation in the area that the AP visited looks grim, it is unclear how severe the drought is in the rest of the country. Wong Maye-E, AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15 to celebrate the 103rd birthday of his grandfather, the late president Kim Il-Sung, in Pyongyang. KCNA, AFP/Getty Images
A national meeting is held on April 14 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium. KCNA via AFP/Getty Images
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, inspecting Unit 1016 of Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force on March 10. KCNA via AFP/Getty Images
North Korean workers plant seedlings in a field on Feb. 3 in Jaeryong, Hwanghae province. KCNA via European Pressphoto Agency
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un enjoys his Dec. 1 visit to an artillery unit at an undisclosed location. Korean News Service via European Pressphoto Agency
A state photo from December 5 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observing the North Korean military's winter training at an unknown location in North Korea. Korean News Service via, epa
Soldiers and citizens rally at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, to protest a United Nations resolution condemning their country's human rights record Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Protesters at the rally Tuesday on the square carried banners praising their leaders and condemning the United States. The banner in the center reads: "Let's defend with our lives the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea headed by supreme leader Kim Jong Un." Jon Chol Jin, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 17 shows North Korean people offering prayers before portraits of late leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang for the third anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-Il. Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images
A December 13, handout photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visiting the Korean People's Army navy unit 189. Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images
Kim Jong-Un applauds the participants in the second meeting of Korean People's Army (KPA) exemplary servicemen's families in Pyongyang in this handout image. Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images
This handout picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 9, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un holding up a boy as he joins a photo session with the participants in the second meeting of Korean People's Army exemplary servicemen's families in Pyongyang. Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images
An undated picture from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 5, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the new year combat and political drill of the Korean People's Army Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images
People enjoy a ride at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park on Sept. 3 in Pyongyang. Wong Maye-E, AP
People shoot targets at an arcade at the Kaeson Youth Amusement Park. Wong Maye-E, AP
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The loudspeakers clearly annoy the Pyongyang regime, which previously declared that “psychological warfare against the North is lighting the fuse of war.” They’ve even threatened to blow them up.
In an ideal scenario, the speakers would send subversive news rippling through the information-starved nation of 25 million. But it’s unclear if this tactic is all that effective.
Under ideal weather conditions, the sound penetrates North Korea by about 15 miles. It mostly rings out over terrain inhabited by border guards.
The broadcasts aren’t limited to anti-regime screeds, says Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea’s Pusan National University who previously spoke to PRI.org.
According to Kelly, they also play “fun stuff such as popular music, sports scores and Entertainment Tonight-style crap.”
“Then they mix in information about North Korea’s economic performance and how corrupt the North Korean elite are,” he says. “So you get a mix of undisputed truth-telling, entertainment and propaganda.”
It’s unclear how much the average North Korean knows about Kim Jong Nam’s existence. Told straight, his biography would indicate that the Kim clan is not 100% free of scandal — and would undermine the notion that their bloodline is somehow sacred.
South Korean intelligence has long claimed that Kim Jong Nam was targeted for death and that he’d begged his little brother for mercy. Born to a different mother than Kim Jong Un, he was estranged from the family.
Kim Jong Nam was perhaps the most Westernized of his siblings. He studied in Europe and resided in the Chinese territory of Macau, a former Portuguese colony.
He even maintained a secret Facebook account — a pedestrian act in most of the world but a severe crime in his native North Korea.
This article originally appeared on GlobalPost and PRI.org. Its content was created separately to USA TODAY.
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