SEOUL, South Korea, June 11, (AP): South Korea’s military has shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda along the inter-Korean border, marking the new liberal government’s first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday the move was part of efforts to "to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.” North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, did not immediately comment on the step by Seoul.

From May to November last year, North Korea flew thousands of balloons toward South Korea to drop substances such as wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. The North said its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas.

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. South Korea, in response to the North Korean balloons, reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North.

The playlist was clearly designed to strike the nerve of Pyongyang, as Kim’s government since the COVID-19 pandemic has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language amongst the population in a bid to strengthen his family’s dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan.