South Korea stops blasting propaganda across border ahead of summit
(dpa)
Seoul (dpa) - South Korea has temporarily stopped broadcasting propaganda across the inter-Korean border, the Defence Ministry announced Monday, days ahead of a meeting between President Moon Jae In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The move was designed to "reduce military tensions between the South and the North creating the mood of peaceful talks," the ministry said in a statement.
It is also an apparent olive branch offered in response to Kim's announcement on Friday that North Korea was suspending ballistic missile tests and closing the country's only known atomic test site.
South Korea began using high-decibel loudspeakers to broadcast anti-North Korean messages across the border in 1963, according to Yonhap.
South Korea ended a temporary pause of the broadcasts in January 2016 after the North conducted a nuclear test. Then president Park Geun Hye described the loud pop music and political messages as effective psychological warfare.
North Korea also conducts similar broadcasts across the border.
It is also an apparent olive branch offered in response to Kim's announcement on Friday that North Korea was suspending ballistic missile tests and closing the country's only known atomic test site.
South Korea began using high-decibel loudspeakers to broadcast anti-North Korean messages across the border in 1963, according to Yonhap.
South Korea ended a temporary pause of the broadcasts in January 2016 after the North conducted a nuclear test. Then president Park Geun Hye described the loud pop music and political messages as effective psychological warfare.
North Korea also conducts similar broadcasts across the border.