South Korea started dismantling propaganda loudspeakers along the border with North Korea on Monday. These had been used for years for propaganda broadcasts and K-pop. The new president, Lee Jae-myung, wants to improve relations with the neighboring country in this way.
The loudspeakers broadcast South Korean music, news, and political messages, among other things. They caused irritation in North Korea for years. South Korea has often stopped using the loudspeakers in periods of rapprochement in the past. But they were repeatedly turned on when tensions rose.
According to the South Korean ministry, removing the loudspeakers is just a “practical measure to reduce tensions between the south and the north,” it said in a statement on Monday.
South Korean President Lee wants to revive the dialogue with Pyangyang. “However precious, peace is better than war,” the new president said after his election.
But North Korea has recently rejected these attempts at rapprochement. “If South Korea thinks it can reverse the consequences of its actions with a few sentimental words, that is a gross miscalculation,” reacted the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The country says it has no interest in talks with South Korea.
The countries are formally still at war after the Korean War of 1950-1953 ended with a ceasefire. However, relations have deteriorated in recent years.