South Korea Makes Gesture of Reconciliation to North Korea

Newsweek

a day ago

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South Korea has started to dismantle loudspeakers along the border with North Korea that broadcast anti-Pyongyang messaging.
The move was initiated by the new Lee Jae Myung administration in Seoul as part of a series of conciliatory gestures aimed at de-escalating tensions on the peninsula.
As of Monday, North Korea had yet to respond by removing its own front-line loudspeakers.
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
South Korea's move comes 14 months after speakers along the border were reactivated to broadcast K-pop music and anti-North Korean rhetoric.
This was in response to Pyongyang's provocative trash balloon campaigns, which carried waste across the border, causing chaos in the south.
Their dismantling comes amid efforts by the Lee administration to pivot away from a hardline stance taken under the previous government of Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law.
A South Korean soldier is seen in a watchtower at the border with North Korea, divided by the Imjin River in Paju, north of Seoul, on June 5, 2025.
A South Korean soldier is seen in a watchtower at the border with North Korea, divided by the Imjin River in Paju, north of Seoul, on June 5, 2025.What To Know
South Korea's military began dismantling fixed loudspeakers along the border with North Korea on Monday in a move that follows the government's June 11 decision to stop anti-North broadcasts.
This decision came just a week after Lee took office and six months after Yoon plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sent troops to parliament to stop lawmakers voting down his declaration of martial law.
South Korea's defense ministry said that the military had started on Monday to remove 24 fixed loudspeakers installed near the military demarcation line (MDL) in a process that is expected to take several days. Since the end of last year, 16 mobile units have already been out of operation.
The defense ministry said the move was aimed at reducing tensions between the north and the south and would not affect military readiness, South Korean outlet JoongAng Daily reported.
There had been no consultation with Pyongyang, which as of Monday had yet to remove its own front-line loudspeakers.
South Korea's presidential office said Lee made the decision given the absence of recent major provocations by North Korea and aimed to de-escalate military confrontation and open the door to rebuilding mutual trust.
However, Pyongyang has rejected that it would soften its stance with the South, and experts have warned that dismantling the loudspeakers may hamper the South's ability to respond credibly to future provocations, including floating trash balloons over the border.
What People Are Saying
South Korea's defense ministry said it has begun "removing loudspeakers from today. This is a practical measure to help reduce tensions between the North and the South, taken within a scope that does not affect our military readiness."
Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and a senior party official: "No matter how desperately the Lee Jae Myung government may...pretend they do all sorts of righteous things to attract our attention and receive international attention, there can be no change in our state's understanding of the enemy."
What Happens Next
South Korean media reported that the dismantling of the speakers could help revive the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, which called for a halt to hostile acts within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) zone around the MDL, which was one of Lee's campaign pledges.
However, critics said that Seoul's action could play into Pyongyang's hands as the presence of the loudspeakers made them one of the few ways to pressure North Korea, which last week rejected any softening of its position toward the South.