South Korea began dismantling loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea messages along the border on Monday, according to the country's defense ministry.The move is part of President Lee Jae-myung’s efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang.
"Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers," Lee Kyung-ho, spokesperson for the South's defense ministry, told reporters.
"It is a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North, provided that such actions do not compromise the military's state of readiness."
He added that all loudspeakers are expected to be removed by the end of the week.
Will tensions ease between the North and South?
Shortly after taking office in June, following the impeachment of his predecessor, Lee's administration halted the broadcasts to "restore trust."
A day later, Pyongyang also stopped its broadcasts, which had long been a source of irritation for South Korean residents near the border.
Although the two countries remain technically at war, Lee seeks to reduce tensions and revive long-stalled dialogue with the North.
However, North Korea recently rejected the overture, stating it had no interest in talks with Seoul.
"If the ROK... expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words, nothing is more serious miscalculation than it," Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said last week, using South Korea's official name.
