South Korea suspends broadcasting through loudspeakers towards the DPRK

South Korea’s military has suspended broadcasting propaganda through loudspeakers aimed at North Korea (DPRK).

The country’s Ministry of Defense announced this, Yonhap reports.

This step aims to restore trust and promote dialogue between the parties, as the administration of the newly elected president of the Republic of Korea intends to restore ties with Pyongyang.

“This decision was made as part of efforts to restore inter-Korean trust and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) explained on Wednesday.

The military official said that the campaigning on the demarcation line has been suspended in accordance with an “order from above.”

This comes a week after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who promised during the election campaign to suspend campaigning with leaflets and loudspeakers to try to improve inter-Korean relations.

Earlier this week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the suspension of the loudspeakers would depend on North Korea’s actions.

Broadcasts may resume, depending on the strategic and operational situation.

The suspension of the loudspeakers comes a year after the military resumed such propaganda broadcasts last June in response to North Korea’s repeated launches of garbage balloons.

Such broadcasts provoked a sharp reaction from Pyongyang: earlier, it threatened to launch artillery strikes on the loudspeakers.

Also, in response to such actions, the DPRK turned on its own loudspeakers, which transmit noises that are irritating to human hearing, which caused complaints from residents of the border areas of South Korea, Radio Liberty noted.

The South Korean military launched a campaign using loudspeakers after the DPRK’s fourth nuclear test in 2016, suspended it two years later, and resumed it in June 2024.