Seoul says Pyongyang shows no signs of dismantling its border loudspeakers

By Anadolu staff

South Korea on Tuesday said that North Korea has shown no signs of dismantling its border loudspeakers after Seoul began removing its own as a step to reduce tensions, according to local media.

Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said that as of Tuesday, there had been no movements by the North Korean military to dismantle their loudspeakers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Only daily activities were detected," Lee said during a regular press briefing.

His remarks came just a day after South Korea’s military began dismantling propaganda loudspeakers installed along the border with North Korea on Monday, in a move aimed at reducing inter-Korean tensions.

The move came less than two months after President Lee Jae Myung ordered the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts in front-line areas as part of efforts to improve ties with North Korea.

South Korea resumed the loudspeaker campaign for the first time in six years in June last year in response to North Korea’s repeated launch of trash-carrying balloons across the heavily fortified border.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid.