South Korea halts propaganda loudspeakers in bid to mend ties with North

South Korea has suspended its cross-border loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts aimed at North Korea in a renewed effort to ease tensions and “restore trust in inter-Korean relations and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the South Korean military said.

The decision, announced days after President Lee Jae-myung’s inauguration, aligns with his campaign pledge to improve dialogue with Pyongyang and reduce hostilities on the peninsula, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The broadcasts, which resumed in June 2024 after a six-year hiatus, were a response to North Korea’s provocative campaign of sending balloons filled with rubbish across the border.

North Korea has long viewed the broadcasts as hostile acts. In the past, Pyongyang has threatened to destroy the speakers, which relay South Korean news, democratic values, and glimpses into life in the South. During daylight, the broadcasts can reportedly be heard up to 10km into North Korea, and at night, up to 24km.

The initiative marks a shift from the previous administration under President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose hawkish approach deteriorated relations with Pyongyang. Yoon was impeached and removed from office in December for placing the nation under martial law, citing threats from alleged North Korea sympathisers.

While the suspension has been welcomed by residents in border regions, some human rights groups have criticised the decision.

“The loudspeakers were a vital bridge to the North Korean people, a reminder that they are not forgotten. By turning them off, we've only strengthened Kim Jong Un's efforts to keep his people isolated,” said Hana Song, Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul.

“The fact that one of the new government's first actions is to turn off the loudspeakers is a troubling sign,” she added. “It suggests we're returning to the days of appeasing the North Korean regime.”

Local authorities, however, see it differently. Ganghwa County, which borders the North, said: “We hope this decision will lead to an end to North Korea's noise-based psychological warfare, allowing our residents to return to their normal daily lives.”

Though paused, the broadcasts are not permanently terminated, signalling the South’s readiness to reactivate them if tensions escalate again.

Both countries are technically still at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

By Vafa Guliyeva