South Korea Stops North Anti-Korean Radio Broadcast

Illustration of the demolition of loudspeakers by the South Korean military. (Source: Joint Press Corps)

JAKARTA - The South Korean government has stopped military radio broadcasts broadcast to North Korea as part of measures aimed at easing tensions with Pyongyang, the Ministry of Defense said on Monday.

This is the first time South Korea has stopped broadcasting the radio in 15 years, since Seoul resumed broadcasts after North Korea sank their warships, according to media reports.

This radio broadcast, called "Voil Freedom", contains news such as the North Korean regime, the development of the South Korean economy, or the K-pop culture. This broadcast has been used as a tool for South Korea for a psychological war against North Korea.

"The National Ministry of Defense has suspended the Voice of Freedom broadcast as part of measures to ease military tensions between South Korea and North Korea," Lee Kyung-ho, deputy ministry spokesman at a news conference.

Shortly after taking office in June, South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung's Administration turned off propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers on the border criticizing the North Korean regime, seeking to revive the stalled dialogue with neighboring countries.

President Lee has promised to take further steps to ease tensions with North Korea, proposing a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to build peace.

But so far North Korea has rejected Lee's offer and said he was not interested in having a dialogue with South Korea.

North Korean leaders plan to visit China this week, its main ally and economic lifeblood, to attend a military parade, along with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It is known that the two Koreas are technically still at war since the 1950-1953 conflict ended in a ceasefire, not a peace agreement.