What was manipulated
Images and videos showing North Korean artillery apparently just steps from a Starbucks in Gimpo, in Gyeonggi Province, are circulating on social media. NK News, a U.S. outlet specializing in North Korean affairs, reports this, saying the material was reportedly obtained by altering authentic photographs published by South Korean media, including the Yonhap news agency.
The original images, the same source reports, showed North Korea's 122 mm self-propelled artillery deployed near Kaepung County, beyond the border, on October 21. In the edited versions, the weapons appear much closer to South Korea than they were; some footage adds North Korean soldiers around the pieces, observing the South with binoculars and pointing across the border.
Coffee with a view of the border
Most of the images show the Starbucks on the second floor of the Aegibong Observatory in Gimpo, which opened in November 2024. The venue is 1.4 kilometers from North Korea's Kaepung County and, since it opened, has attracted a steady stream of visitors precisely because of the unusual view of North Korean villages and mountains visible from its windows.
The spread of the manipulated material comes at a time of increased tension along the inter-Korean border, after the explosion of two North Korean landmines in the demilitarized zone last month. This is the context that, according to reports, makes the content particularly sensitive.
The reported risks and open questions
Yang Uk, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told a local media outlet that such deepfakes could affect not only financial markets but also perceptions of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. This is the expert's assessment, not an effect that has already been measured.
Several aspects remain to be clarified: NK News indicates the alleged origin of the alterations, but the material provided does not document who created or disseminated the content, nor the scale of its circulation. It is also not specified whether the South Korean authorities have launched official checks or denials. Above all, the picture confirms a phenomenon: images from real news can be repurposed to exaggerate the proximity of military forces to the border, making it harder to distinguish what happened from what was constructed.
