South Korea's military has announced it has begun dismantling loudspeakers along its border with North Korea in an effort to ease tensions.
The loudspeakers had previously been used to broadcast anti-North Korean propaganda across the border, but South Korea's new liberal government stopped the broadcasts in June as a conciliatory gesture seeking to restore trust and resume dialogue with Pyongyang, which has significantly reduced cooperation with the South in recent years.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said on Monday that the physical removal of loudspeakers from the border was another “practical measure” aimed at reducing tensions between the two Koreas and that it would not affect South Korea's military readiness.
Ministry spokesman Lee Kyung-ho did not provide details on how the dismantled loudspeakers would be stored or whether they could be quickly returned to the border if the situation escalated again.
A government spokesman told a briefing that no discussions had taken place with military officials before the decision to remove the loudspeakers.
North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any external criticism of its authoritarian regime and third-generation ruler Kim Jong-un, did not immediately respond to South Korea's actions.
South Korea's previous conservative government resumed daily loudspeaker broadcasts last June after a years-long hiatus in response to North Korea launching garbage balloons toward the South as part of psychological warfare.
Propaganda messages and K-pop songs blared from the speakers, a playlist clearly aimed at offending the sensibilities of residents of Pyongyang, where the Kim government is stepping up its campaign to eradicate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in an attempt to bolster his family's dynastic rule.
Cold War-style psychological campaigns have further exacerbated tensions already fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear program and South Korea's escalating joint military exercises with the United States and trilateral security cooperation with Japan.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, a liberal who took office in June after winning a snap election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Seok-yul, has promised to improve ties with Pyongyang, which has reacted harshly to Yoon's hardline policies and avoided dialogue.
However, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's powerful sister, last week rejected the Lee government's overtures, saying Seoul's “blind trust” in the US alliance and hostility toward North Korea were no different from the approach
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
