South Korea begins removing loudspeakers on border with North to reduce tensions

File image from 2018 of the loudspeakers that South Korea uses to blast propaganda into the North. On Monday, the South Korean military began removing the loudspeakers from border areas. Photograph: Kim Hong-ji/AP

South Korean authorities have begun removing loudspeakers that blare propaganda broadcasts along its border with the North, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Monday, as the new government of President Lee Jae Myung seeks to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

South Korea’s dismantling of the loudspeakers was a “practical measure that can help ease inter-Korean tensions without affecting the military’s readiness posture,” the ministry said in a statement.