South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea

SEOUL – South Korea’s army has shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda alongside the inter-Korean border, marking the brand new liberal authorities’s first concrete step towards easing tensions between the war-divided rivals.

The South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in June final 12 months following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons towards the South in a psychological warfare marketing campaign.

South Korea’s Protection Ministry mentioned Wednesday the transfer was a part of efforts to “to revive belief in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

From Might to November final 12 months, North Korea flew 1000’s of balloons towards South Korea to drop substances similar to wastepaper, fabric scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. The North mentioned its balloon marketing campaign got here after South Korean activists despatched over balloons crammed with anti-North Korean leaflets, in addition to USB sticks crammed with fashionable South Korean songs and dramas.

North Korea is extraordinarily delicate to any outdoors criticism of its authoritarian management and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un.

South Korea, in response to the North Korean balloons, reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and Ok-pop songs towards the North.

The Chilly Battle-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea’s rising nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to broaden joint army workout routines with america and strengthen three-way safety cooperation with Japan.

South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, who took workplace final week after profitable a snap election to interchange ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to enhance relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon’s hardline insurance policies and shunned dialogue.