JAKARTA - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered the suspension of propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers towards North Korea in border areas to ease tensions and rebuild inter-Korean trust.
"The president instructed the military authorities to suspend loudspeaker broadcasts on the front lines leading to North Korea, effective from 14.00 this afternoon," presidential spokesman Kang Yu-jung told reporters on Wednesday, June 11, reported by ANTARA from Yonhap.
Hours earlier, the South Korean military said it had stopped broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda via loudspeakers.
The decision was taken about a year after the broadcast resumed in June last year in response to a balloon shipment filled with garbage from North Korea.
According to Kang, the suspension demonstrates the South Korean government's commitment to rebuilding trust and creating peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The termination of the broadcast was one of Lee's campaign promises regarding the issue of inter-Korean relations before he was elected president in the last 3 June election.
While running for office, Lee also promised to stop sending anti-North Korea leaflets through hot air balloons.
As president, he stressed that he would try to improve relations with North Korea, although his neighboring country later called South Korea a "major enemy" and cut off all official communication channels.
"This step was taken to ease tensions, especially as North Korea has not made major provocations recently," Kang said. "The goal is to reduce military confrontation and pave the way for restoration of trust between the two Koreas."
He also called the policy a "real step" to reduce the impact of the noise felt by residents in border areas.
Under the previous administration, President Yoon Suk Yeol again activated loudspeaker broadcasts that had been suspended for six years, to show his firm stance towards North Korea.
However, the Lee administration is now taking a different approach. Earlier this week, the South Korean Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs, expressed regret over the actions of a group of relatives of kidnapping victims who returned to distributing anti-North Korea leaflets.
Source: Yonhap
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