South Korean military suspends loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — South Korean soldiers work on a loudspeaker that is set up for propaganda broadcasts during a military drill near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, in this handout picture provided by the Defense Ministry and released on June 9, 2024. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL  -  South Korea's military said on Wednesday it had suspended loudspeaker broadcasts near the border targeting North Korea, nearly a year after resuming the propaganda and K-pop blasts during a time of growing tension with its neighbour.

The step makes good on a promise by President Lee Jae-myung, who took office this month vowing to resume dialogue with the North, suspend the loudspeaker broadcasts and restore a suspended military pact with Pyongyang.

Lee ordered the pre-emptive measure to ease tension, reduce military confrontation and build trust, his spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, told a briefing, as North Korea has refrained from provocations lately. 

"Now it is North Korea's turn to respond," ruling party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo said in a statement. "Please stop broadcasting noise at the South." 

Those living near the heavily fortified border have opposed the loudspeaker broadcasts, which they blame for severe noise nuisance.

Seoul's resumption last July of a round-the-clock campaign of loudspeaker broadcasts was in response to Pyongyang's launch of balloons carrying trash over the border, the South's military said then.

Pyongyang had said the balloons were retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who regularly send inflatables with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and other items across the border.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since an armistice  ended fighting in the Korean War of 1950 to 1953.

 (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez // REUTERS)