North Korea has apparently ceased its loudspeaker broadcasts to the South, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported on June 12, a day after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered a halt to broadcasts from the South.
“There were no regions that heard North Korea’s loudspeakers to the South,” the JCS said. “We are keeping a close eye on North Korea’s related actions.”
On June 11 at 2 p.m., President Lee Jae-myung gave orders to stop the speakers as part of his efforts to alleviate tensions with the North.
All loudspeaker broadcasts, which had been active since July 21 of last year, were immediately halted. South Korea had operated 24 stationary speakers on the western, central, and eastern fronts, as well as 16 mobile speakers. The speakers remain in place but have ceased operation.
Newly elected President Lee pledged during his campaign to stop the broadcasts to the North in a bid to soften the relationship with North Korea. His promise was fulfilled a week after he was inaugurated on June 4.
![North Korea's loudspeakers to South Korea are seen from Paju, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 16. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/12/b9e50e92-23c5-4528-939b-4eec17c33810.jpg)
The last broadcast heard from North Korea was from the western front “late last night,” according to military officials on June 12. The North operated different speakers at different times, the official said.
Some regions reported that some broadcasts “abruptly stopped” straight after President Lee’s decree and started playing “peaceful songs” instead of broadcasts, according to officials.
Pyongyang’s unexpected reaction may be a means of making the best use of Seoul’s olive branch, especially since North Korea has been enduring military pressure after the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration entirely suspended the Sept. 19 military agreement reached by then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang in 2018, under which the two sides agreed to ease military tensions between the two Koreas.
From November 2023, the Yoon administration had threatened to call off the agreement in response to a series of provocations from the North, including ballistic missile launches and the first wave of balloon-borne trash attacks that began on May 28 last year. On June 4, 2024, the Cabinet passed the suspension, and on June 9, 2024, the National Security Council decided to reinstall loudspeakers and resume limited broadcasts.
![Military loudspeakers aimed at North Korea, pictured on Jan. 8, 2016 [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/0611-loudspeaker.jpg)
The South Korean military resumed flights of both manned and unmanned surveillance vehicles, as well as military drills within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) radius of the military demarcation line and the Northern Limit Line.
To North Korea, which lacks surveillance and military manpower compared to South Korea, the restoration of the Sept. 19 treaty would be by no means an inconvenience, according to observers.
Still, military sources warn against a possible change of heart. Some warn that North Korea may be taking advantage of the peace offering, drawing out an advantageous policy from South Korea before starting provocations in various ways.
“We are certain that there were no loudspeaker broadcasts to the South, but we are keeping a close eye on their actions through the afternoon,” said a military official. “We need to comprehensively observe North Korea’s attitude.”
BY YOON SO-YEON, LEE KEUN-PYUNG, LEE YU-JUNG [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
