Before summit, South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts

Source: Associated Press




By ASSOCIATED PRESS 04/22/2018 11:33 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea halted anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the rivals’ tense border on Monday days before their leaders are to sit down for talks expected to focus on the North’s nuclear program, Seoul officials said.

Seoul had blasted propaganda messages and K-pop songs from border loudspeakers since the North’s fourth nuclear test in early 2016. Pyongyang quickly matched Seoul’s campaign with its own border broadcasts and launches of balloons carrying anti-South leaflets across the border.

South Korea, however, turned off its broadcasts to try to ease military tensions and establish an environment for peaceful talks, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It said Seoul hopes its action would lead to both sides stopping mutual slander and propaganda activities. Yonhap news agency reported unspecified North Korean broadcasts were sporadically heard in the South on Monday morning. South Korean defense officials said they couldn’t immediately confirm the status of the North’s broadcasts.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/22/north-korea-south-545525