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South Korea Suspends Border Loudspeaker Broadcasts; North Korea Pauses Noise Broadcasts

President Lee Jae-myung said the suspension is aimed at restoring trust in inter-Korean relations.

North Korea appears to have stopped broadcasting loud noises along border areas with the South, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The move came one day after South Korea suspended propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the DMZ. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI
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FILE - A South Korean military vehicle with loudspeakers is seen in front of the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, on Feb. 15, 2018.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
A loudspeaker is seen next to a North Korean guard post on Feb. 16, 2025, in this file photo taken from an observatory post just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • Seoul’s military halted its yearlong loudspeaker broadcasts of propaganda and K-pop music along the Demilitarized Zone on June 11.
  • The sound campaign was reactivated in June 2024 after North Korea flew thousands of trash-filled balloons into South Korean territory.
  • South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported no hostile noise broadcasts from the North on June 12, suggesting a reciprocal pause in audio provocations.
  • Officials said the suspension also aims to relieve border-area residents from continuous noise disruptions linked to the broadcasts.
  • The Lee administration plans to revive a scrapped inter-Korean military agreement and reopen dialogue channels to sustain this early de-escalation.