South Korea Just Turned Down Its Giant Loudspeakers

South Korea has halted its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts directed at North Korea in an effort to improve relations, the country's military has announced. The decision comes just a week after President Lee Jae-myung's election, which was won partly on promises to ease tensions with the North and revive dialogue.

• Backstory: The broadcasts, which resumed last June after a six-year break, were initially a response to North Korea's campaign of floating trash-filled balloons into the South, per the BBC. The loudspeakers had broadcast news from both sides of the border and overseas, updates on democracy, and details about living in South Korea—content considered provocative by Pyongyang, which has threatened to destroy the speakers in the past. The Japan Times reports that the speakers have also blasted out K-pop tunes.

• 'Proactive step': That's how a Lee spokesperson described the speaker shutdown, per the AP. Meanwhile, South Korea's Defense Ministry said the move was part of efforts "to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula." A suspension, rather than full termination, leaves the door open for the South's military to switch the speakers back on if necessary, per the Yonhap news agency.
• Detractors: Human rights groups criticized the move, arguing the broadcasts were a rare avenue for North Koreans to access outside information. "The loudspeakers were a vital bridge to the North Korean people," Hanna Song of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights said, warning that suspending the broadcasts could further isolate North Koreans.
• Local reaction: Border residents, however, have welcomed the change, complaining that both sides' noise campaigns have disrupted daily life. Ganghwa County, near the border, released a statement expressing hope that the move marks the end of such psychological warfare.

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