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South Korea dismantles border loudspeakers despite North's lack of engagement

Published: 04 Aug. 2025, 19:22 Updated: 04 Aug. 2025, 19:30

South Korean soldiers dismantle loudspeakers installed along the border for psychological warfare against North Korea on Aug. 4. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

South Korea’s military began dismantling fixed loudspeakers along the border with North Korea on Monday, 14 months after the former administration reactivated them in response to Pyongyang’s provocative trash balloon campaigns.

The move, initiated by the Lee Jae Myung administration, comes as part of a series of conciliatory gestures aimed at de-escalating inter-Korean tensions. It follows the government’s decision on June 11 to halt anti-North broadcasts just a week after Lee took office.

But North Korea has so far refused to reciprocate, maintaining that the regime "has no interest" in discussions with the South — casting doubt on whether Seoul’s overtures will be met in kind.

'Reduce tensions'

The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Monday, “The military has begun removing loudspeakers from today. This is a practical measure to help reduce tensions between the North and the South, taken within a scope that does not affect our military readiness.”

According to military sources, 24 fixed loudspeakers installed near the military demarcation line (MDL) are being dismantled. Sixteen mobile units have already been out of operation since the end of last year. The dismantlement is expected to take several days.

A ministry official noted that there was no prior consultation with the North, emphasizing that the decision was made independently, just as the suspension of broadcasts had been.

North Korea has yet to respond in kind. As of Monday afternoon, the North had not removed its own front-line loudspeakers.

A North Korean guard post and loudspeakers aimed at the South are seen from a border area in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 4. The South Korean Defense Ministry announced it began dismantling loudspeakers along the border that day. [WOO SANG-JO]

The swift dismantling comes amid broader efforts by the Lee administration to signal a shift in policy from the hard-line stance taken under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government. Military officials have reportedly been reviewing the possibility of dismantling the speakers since the broadcasts were halted in June.

In announcing the broadcast suspension, the presidential office had said, “President Lee made the decision as a pre-emptive step to ease tensions, given the absence of recent major provocations by North Korea. This measure aims to de-escalate military confrontation and open the door to rebuilding mutual trust.”

Critics worry, however, that continuing with unilateral gestures without any change in North Korea’s behavior could play into Pyongyang’s strategy of coercively managing inter-Korean relations. In particular, the loudspeaker broadcasts directly target the North’s leadership, making them one of the most sensitive nonmilitary measures for the regime. They are also among the few effective pressure cards still available to the South Korean government.

A screen covers a loudspeaker used for broadcasts toward North Korea at a South Korean guard post along the border at Paju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 4. [NEWS1]

On July 28, Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister and a senior party official, issued a sharply worded statement rejecting any softening of Pyongyang’s position.

"No matter how desperately the Lee Jae Myung government may try to imitate the fellow countrymen and pretend they do all sorts of righteous things to attract our attention and receive international attention, there can be no change in our state's understanding of the enemy," she said.

She dismissed the suspension of broadcasts as “not the work worthy of appreciation,” warning that South Korea was seriously miscalculating if it "expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words."

Analysts warn that dismantling the loudspeakers now could undermine the South’s ability to respond credibly to future provocations, including the North floating trash balloons over the border.

A Defense Ministry official declined to say whether the government would reinstall the equipment in the event of further incidents, stating only, “We will not speculate on future scenarios.”

Potential revival of 2018 pact

The dismantling could also serve as groundwork for reviving the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement signed during the Moon Jae-in administration.

The comprehensive military agreement, signed on Sept. 19, 2018, called for a halt to hostile acts within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) zone around the MDL. The Yoon administration suspended the pact in June 2024 and reactivated loudspeaker broadcasts.

Restoring the agreement was also a key campaign pledge of President Lee.

Helicopters are seen on standby at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on July 29. [YONHAP]

Some government officials believe Pyongyang may respond positively, citing how the North switched off its own broadcasts following the South’s June suspension. Others see the current developments as preparation for a possible overture to the North during President Lee’s upcoming Liberation Day address on Aug.15.

In a possible further gesture, Seoul is reportedly considering delaying some field training components of the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises with the United States, initially planned for this month, to September. Observers link the potential rescheduling to Kim Yo-jong’s complaints that such drills are a "rehearsal for a war of invasion" against North Korea.

The latest moves echo those of the Moon government, which dismantled its own loudspeakers in May 2018 after the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration. That agreement, signed during a summit with Kim Jong-un, pledged to "completely cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including land, sea and air."

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers opening remarks during the third plenary session of the 427th National Assembly at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Aug. 4. [NEWS1]

'Goodwill-for-goodwill'

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who had responded to Kim Yo-jong’s statement by floating the idea of adjusting South Korea—U.S. joint drills, welcomed Monday’s dismantlement. He described it as “a continuation of the president’s directive to stop loudspeaker broadcasts and a step toward rebuilding broken trust.”

“In the previous administration, we confronted each other with strength, which led to the deterioration of ties," he said at a meeting with the Venerable Jinwoo, head of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, at Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul’s Jongno District on Monday.

"Since Kim Jong-un has emphasized strength-for-strength and goodwill-for-goodwill, I believe our goodwill will be met in kind.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE YU-JUNG [[email protected]]