South Korea begins dismantling loudspeakers along border

South Korean soldiers dismantle loudspeakers at an undisclosed location along the border with North Korea on Aug 4 2025 Yonhap — South Korean soldiers dismantle loudspeakers at an undisclosed location along the border with North Korea on Aug. 4, 2025. Yonhap

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea on Monday began dismantling loudspeakers used for propaganda broadcasts along the border with North Korea.

Military authorities here said about 20 loudspeakers installed along the heavily armed border will be removed within two to three days as part of measures to "ease tensions between the two Koreas."

The move comes as a follow-up step about two months after President Lee Jae-myung ordered a halt to propaganda broadcasts less than a week after his inauguration on June 4.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young explained that it could help improve frayed relations with the North as part of the Lee administration's reconciliatory efforts to reengage with the isolated country.

Propaganda broadcasts resumed in June last year for the first time in about six years, in response to a series of North Korean provocations including its bizarre campaign of sending trash-filled balloons toward the South. That prompted the North to retaliate with even louder and creepy, indecipherable noises, which led to complaints from residents in border towns.

But it remains to be seen whether the North will take similar steps this time as well, having halted its broadcasts shortly after the South did.

Im Yoon-seo lyseo0330@ajupress.com