The military plans to look into how serious the noise caused by North Korea's anti-South broadcasting is, an official said Monday, as front-line residents raised complaints about the inter-Korean psychological warfare operations, which have continued for nearly two months. 

Right after North Korea's nuclear test on Jan. 6, Seoul resumed its loudspeaker campaign along the tensely guarded border in retaliation, blaring messages critical of the North Korean regime and leader Kim Jong-un.

In response, Pyongyang started its own loudspeaker broadcasting operation toward the South although the North Korean loudspeakers only make a loud buzzing sound, instead of recognizable political messages due to either low speaker quality or an insufficient power supply.

Following the North's long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7, which South Korea and its allies denounced as a long-range missile test, Seoul expanded the scale of its psychological warfare tactic vis-a-vis Pyongyang.

As the around-the-clock broadcasting has continued for nearly two months, it has become a major source of irritation among the residents of border towns who complain about the noise.

"As complaints were filed by front-line residents over North Korea's anti-South loudspeaker broadcasting, has decided to gauge the actual level of the noise from the North's loudspeakers," a military official said.

The official said the military will send an inspection team to front-line villages in the near future before drawing up countermeasures. 

Sources said the inspection will also look into if the South Korean side of the loudspeakers are also responsible for the noise complaints.

"If our side's anti-North loudspeaker broadcasting causes any inconvenience to residents, we could consider moving them to appropriate places," the official said. 

South Korea "plans to start discussions on ways to help lessen the inconvenience to the residents," Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, said in a briefing on the issue. (Yonhap)