North Korea has reportedly halted its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), appearing to reciprocate South Korea’s recent de-escalation efforts.
Colonel Lee Sung-Jun, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that the broadcasts ceased to be audible around 11 p.m. Wednesday night and had not been heard anywhere in South Korea throughout Thursday. While Pyongyang has not officially confirmed the cessation, residents in cities near the border reported that no broadcasts were audible Thursday morning.
The development follows an order by newly inaugurated President Lee Jae-myung earlier this week to suspend all anti-North Korean propaganda activities, including loudspeaker broadcasts across the DMZ and leaflet drops into North Korean territory.
The broadcasts, which resumed in June 2024 under former President Yoon Suk Yeol, included anti-Pyongyang messaging, South Korean news segments, K-pop music, and aerial leaflet campaigns. These activities had originally been suspended in 2018 amid a brief period of diplomatic engagement between North Korea and the United States.
During his tenure, President Yoon—widely seen as a hardliner on North Korea—presided over a sharp deterioration in inter-Korean relations. Initiatives aimed at rapprochement were rolled back, with North Korea demolishing cross-border infrastructure, including roads and rail lines, and dismantling a monument in Pyongyang symbolizing hopes for Korean reunification.
In response, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un formally abandoned reunification as a national policy goal. He declared South Korea a “principal enemy” and a “hostile state,” stating that the two nations were no longer "partners in reunification" but adversaries “effectively at war.” All North Korean agencies tasked with inter-Korean dialogue were dissolved shortly thereafter.
President Yoon was impeached in December 2024 following his controversial attempt on December 3 to declare martial law and suspend South Korea’s National Assembly.