Latest news with #demilitarisedzone
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
North Korea denies removing border loudspeakers
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to reach out to the nuclear-armed North and pursue dialogue without preconditions since his election in June -- a reversal from his hawkish predecessor. The South's military said in the same month that the two countries had halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarised zone, adding last week that it had detected North Korean troops dismantling loudspeakers on the frontier. But North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, on Thursday denied the reports, saying Pyongyang had no interest in improving relations with Seoul. "We have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "Recently, the ROK has tried to mislead public opinion by saying that its 'goodwill measures' and 'appeasement policy' are meeting a response, as well as to create public opinion that the DPRK-ROK relations are being 'restored'", she said, referring to the two Koreas by the abbreviations of their formal names. "We have clarified on several occasions that we have no will to improve relations with the ROK... and this conclusive stand and viewpoint will be fixed in our constitution in the future," Kim added. Her statement came as South Korea and the United States prepare to hold annual joint military drills aimed at containing the North, from August 18 to 28. "Whether the ROK withdraws its loudspeakers or not, stops broadcasting or not, postpones its military exercises or not and downscales them or not, we do not care about them and are not interested in them," Kim said. The South Korean government, meanwhile, maintained a diplomatic stance, saying Thursday that it would continue to "pursue normalisation and stabilisation measures" with the North. "Over the past three years, inter-Korean relations have been locked in a hardline standoff. To turn this into a period of dialogue and engagement, we must approach the situation with composure and a long-term perspective," an official from Seoul's unification ministry told reporters. 'Practical measure' Last year, North Korea sent thousands of trash-carrying balloons southwards, saying they were retaliation for anti-North propaganda balloons floated by South Korean activists. Later, the South turned on border loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years -- including K-pop tunes and international news -- and the North started transmitting strange sounds along the frontier, unsettling South Korean residents. Loudspeaker broadcasts, a tactic that dates back to the Korean War, have previously prompted Pyongyang to threaten artillery strikes on Seoul's speaker units. The South's defence ministry said earlier this month it had begun removing loudspeakers from its side of the border as "a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North". Days later, Seoul said the North had started removing its own loudspeakers "in some parts along the front line". Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said Kim Yo Jong's latest statement essentially kills any chances to improve inter-Korean or US-North Korean relations. Calling her remarks a "death certificate", Lim told AFP her stance had "hardened" since July when she said North Korea had no interest in pursuing dialogue with the South. "North Korea now appears to be formalising not just a refusal to talk, but the impossibility of talks with both the US and the South," Lim said. Kim's message is that "any tension-easing move will be ignored, suggesting that military de-escalation mechanisms could be neutralised at any time", added Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "The timing -- four days before the start of South Korea-US joint drills -- signals that Pyongyang may shift to high-intensity military displays, such as ballistic missile launches, or tactical nuclear strike drills," he said. North Korea -- which attacked its neighbour in 1950, triggering the Korean War -- has always been infuriated by US-South Korean military drills, decrying them as rehearsals for invasion. The United States stations around 28,500 troops in South Korea, and the allies regularly stage joint drills they describe as defensive in nature.
France 24
09-08-2025
- Politics
- France 24
North Korea removing border loudspeakers: Seoul military
The two countries had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarised zone, Seoul's military said in June after the election of President Lee Jae Myung, who is seeking to ease tensions with Pyongyang. South Korea's defence ministry on Monday said it had begun removing loudspeakers from its side of the border as "a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North". South Korea had been blaring K-pop and news reports to the North in response to Pyongyang transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean locals. But under Lee's administration, in June, Seoul halted the loudspeaker broadcasts and in turn, a day later, North Korea stopped their broadcasts as well. "The South Korean military has detected North Korean troops dismantling propaganda loudspeakers in some parts along the front line from this morning," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Saturday in a statement. "It remains to be confirmed whether the devices have been removed across all regions, and the military will continue to monitor related activities," they added. Seoul had begun the loudspeaker broadcasts last year in response to a barrage of trash-filled balloons flown south by Pyongyang. The North had sent thousands of the balloons southwards at that time, saying they were retaliation for propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists. Relations between the two Koreas had been at one of their lowest points in years, under the South's then-president Yoon Suk Yeol, with Seoul taking a hard line towards Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lee has taken a different approach in dealing with the North since his June election, including requesting civic groups to stop sending anti-North propaganda leaflets. Lee has also said he would seek talks with the North without preconditions, following a deep freeze under his predecessor.
France 24
04-08-2025
- Politics
- France 24
South Korea removing loudspeakers on border with North
The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarised zone, Seoul's military said in June after the election of President Lee Jae Myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean locals, a day after the South's loudspeakers fell silent. "Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers," Lee Kyung-ho, spokesman of the South's defence ministry, told reporters on Monday. "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." All loudspeakers set up along the border will be dismantled by the end of the week, he added. He did not disclose the number to be removed, but a Yonhap news agency report -- which the defence ministry declined to verify -- said it was about 20. Handout photos released by the ministry show soldiers wearing body armour unloading sets of speakers as part of the process. Newly elected President Lee ordered the military to stop the broadcasts in a bid to "restore trust". Relations between the two Koreas had been at one of their lowest points in years, with Seoul taking a hard line towards Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. -Overture- Last year, the two Koreas were in a tit-for-tat propaganda war, as the North sent thousands of trash-filled balloons southwards, saying they were retaliation for propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists. In response, South's then-president Yoon Suk Yeol ordered to turn on border loudspeaker broadcasts -- including K-pop tunes and international news. Shortly afterwards, North Korea started transmitting strange sounds along the frontier, unsettling South Korean residents. Lee has taken a different approach in dealing with the North since his June election, including requesting civic groups to stop sending anti-North propaganda leaflets. "We have strongly urged civic groups to halt leaflet activities in order to foster peace and ensure the safety of residents in border areas," Koo Byung-sam, spokesman of the Unification Ministry, said at a press briefing on Monday. Lee has said he would seek talks with the North without preconditions, following a deep freeze under his predecessor. Despite his diplomatic overtures, the North has rejected pursuing dialogue with its neighbour. "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 the South's official name. The two countries technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Israel hits Syrian troops in Druze city of Sweida after violent clashes
Israel has carried out strikes on Syrian soldiers as they deployed in the southern Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday to impose a curfew after clashes are said to have left over 100 dead. Damascus had been warned by Israel against sending troops and armour to the south, closer to its border, which Israel wants to turn into a demilitarised zone. It has also said it would not allow any harm to the Druze, a minority with a sizeable population in Israel, alongside Syria and Lebanon. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement he had instructed the military to intervene to 'prevent harm to the Druze in Syria' and to police the demilitarisation zone, which Damascus had not agreed to. The Israeli military said it had targeted several tanks and armoured vehicles in the airstrikes. Syria's foreign ministry said that it held Israel fully responsible for the latest attacks and any consequences. In a statement, the ministry said that it would protect all Syrian citizens without exception, including the Druze. Syrian government forces had begun deploying in the city on Tuesday after an agreement with Druze religious leaders to end some of the deadliest fighting in Syria since March, when the new government put down an insurrection by another minority, the Alawis that ended in massacres of civilians. But as they started to enter the city, a leading Druze leader recanted a statement welcoming them, saying he had been forced to issue it under duress, and called for 'resistance'. The government later agreed to withdraw its soldiers and replace them with a police force. The latest violence began with clashes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes, which involved government forces. Syria's interior ministry said at least 30 people were killed but a Syrian monitoring group put the toll at 116. On Sunday Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings and escalating unrest. In Israel, dozens of Druze held protests in various locations demanding the government do more to intervene and support their brethren, blocking roads and torching car tires in some instances. Some protesters were believed to have crossed the border with Syria. Israel's military posted on X that their 'troops are currently working to safely return the civilians' home. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The Druze make up about 1 per cent of Israel's population, but many hold senior positions in the military and police. Israel had taken a hardline stance on the new government, which is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebels into overthrowing the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. It had warned Sharaa against sending forces to the south, nearer to its border, and conducted several airstrikes against his troops, saying it wanted to protect the Druze in the south. However, it has also held talks with his government on security arrangements after its troops took over a buffer zone and more territory in Syria after Assad's overthrow. Amichai Chikli, Israel's diaspora affairs minister, called for Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay', accusing the Syrian leader on both his English and Hebrew X accounts of being a 'terrorist, a barbaric murderer'. Sharaa has struggled to impose the central government's authority on the country, which was riven by a decade-long and increasingly sectarian civil war under Assad, who hailed from the Alawi minority. In March, Syrian troops and allied militia were accused of massacring hundreds of Alawis after insurrectionists killed several dozen soldiers, raising concerns among the Druze, who have refused to come under the new government's authority. Sharaa, however, received a boost from President Trump two months later, after Trump agreed to meet in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and lift all sanctions on the country. Trump also rescinded a US terrorism designation against Sharaa and his former rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In northern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 people, including seven Syrians who were in a displaced people's camp, the Lebanese news agency reported. The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah targets in the area as it tries to prevent the militia from rearming and regrouping after a war last year.
