South Korean military personnel are dismantling loudspeakers on the border with North Korea that were used for propaganda broadcasts, Korean reported on Monday, citing the South Korean Ministry of Defence.
The loudspeakers installed on the border with North Korea are being removed in order to reduce tensions between the countries. Media noted that the decision to dismantle them was made less than two months after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts in frontline areas.
“This is a practical measure that can help ease inter-Korean tensions without affecting the combat readiness of the armed forces,” the Ministry of Defence said.
South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts on the border with North Korea for the first time in six years in the summer of 2024, when the countries exchanged balloons filled with rubbish.
In July 2024, North Korea sent such balloons towards South Korea. The previous launch took place three days earlier. Since the end of May, Pyongyang has carried out nine similar actions, releasing more than 2,000 balloons.
North Korea said it was responding to South Korea’s distribution of propaganda leaflets, also delivered by air.
Reporting on the authorities’ intention to resume the loudspeakers, media pointed to plans to broadcast K-pop news and other South Korean programmes. South Korea and North Korea began using loudspeakers for propaganda in 1963. The broadcasts were suspended in 2015 ahead of high-level talks, but Seoul resumed them in January 2016 after North Korea conducted nuclear tests.
