South Korea's military said on Wednesday it had stopped broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda through loudspeakers along the border, as part of the new liberal government's bid to ease tensions and "restore trust" between the rivals.
The move fulfilled a campaign promise from South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol.
Lee has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon’s hardline policies and shunned dialogue with Seoul as a result.
South Korea's defence ministry said suspending the broadcasts was part of efforts "to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula".
North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its ruler, Kim Jong-un, has not commented on the move by Seoul.
The broadcasts had previously been paused for six years, but they resumed in June last year in retaliation for North Korea flying rubbish-filled balloons over the border.
Between May and November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate events to drop substances such as wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure, according to Seoul.
Pyongyang said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with songs and dramas popular in the South.
Psychological warfare
The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fuelled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the US and bolster three-way security cooperation with Japan.
During the recent South Korean election campaign, Lee promised to halt the broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for residents in border towns in the South.
Those residents had complained about North Korea's retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds.
In a briefing on Monday, South Korea's unification ministry also called for civilian activists in the country to stop flying anti-North propaganda leaflets across the border.
Such activities "could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas," a spokesperson for the ministry said.
Despite Lee's vow to reopen communication channels with Pyongyang, the likelihood of an early resumption of dialogue between the rivals remains low.
North Korea has consistently rejected such offers from the South and the US since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disputes.
Pyongyang's foreign policy priority is now with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine.
