Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
South Korea dismantles propaganda loudspeakers aimed at North
A North Korean guard post and loudspeakers for propaganda broadcasts toward the South are seen from the border area in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
The South Korean military has begun dismantling propaganda loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border, in the latest gesture of rapprochement with North Korea.
The Ministry of National Defense said Monday morning that the operation began earlier in the day and is expected to be completed this week.
"This is a practical measure aimed at easing tensions between the two Koreas, carried out within a scope that does not affect our military’s readiness posture,” the ministry said in a statement.
The loudspeakers, which had been broadcasting K-pop songs and news critical of the Kim Jong-un regime, were halted in the days following President Lee Jae Myung’s inauguration on June 4.
The dismantling operation covers all 20 fixed loudspeakers, with removal expected to be completed within two to three days. Roughly 10 mobile loudspeakers had already been withdrawn in June, when the broadcasts were suspended.
"Since halting loudspeaker broadcasts in June, our ministry has held follow-up discussions on the matter. Consultations were also held with relevant organizations," deputy spokesperson Lee Kyung-ho said during a briefing.
Lee declined to comment when asked whether the dismantling signaled that the loudspeaker option was now completely off the table in the military’s response to potential provocations by North Korea, such as missile launches or trash balloon campaigns.
"I don’t think it’s appropriate to make a premature assessment at this stage. What I can say is that the military is always maintaining a high level of readiness," he said.
The removal operation was not coordinated in advance with North Korea, according to the ministry.
South Korean military personnel dismantle propaganda loudspeakers that were installed near the inter-Korean border, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
North Korea had operated its own loudspeakers aimed at the South, transmitting high-pitched metallic noises described as resembling scraping metal. Those broadcasts, however, ceased after Seoul suspended its transmissions in June.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Pyongyang was recently observed performing maintenance work on some of its loudspeakers, but there were no signs of their dismantling.
"Since our military began dismantling its equipment first, there have been no further movements detected from the North Korean military," said JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young described the military's operation as the "right step" toward improving inter-Korean relations.
"Ultimately, the key issue between the two Koreas right now is restoring trust, which has completely broken down. I see this as a step toward rebuilding that trust," Chung told reporters on Monday.
The suspension of the military’s psychological warfare campaign was among the first in a series of steps by the liberal Lee administration to improve relations with Pyongyang.
The government has also called on civic groups to stop launching anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets across the border and permitted humanitarian outreach to the North.
The military loudspeakers were reinstalled near the border in June 2024 under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, in a tit-for-tat response to the North’s trash balloon campaigns. It was the first time the loudspeakers had been reinstalled since their last use in 2016.