[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- As a follow-up to rapprochement accords signed at a historic inter-Korean summit, South Korea will start dismantling clusters of high-decibel loudspeakers for cross-border propaganda broadcasting this week, military authorities said Monday.
The dismantlement of loudspeakers placed along the heavily armed border will begin on Tuesday, the South's defense ministry said. At their summit last week in the truce village of Panmunjom, the two Koreas agreed to work on ending the status of war on the Korean peninsula and stop all hostile acts against each other.
As the first step, South Korea will remove fixed loudspeaker facilities and withdrew vehicles mounted with loudspeakers from front-line areas, spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo told reporters. The North has blasted loudspeaker batteries as an act of war.
In an effort to foster a peaceful mood ahead of the summit, South Korea took unilateral action on April 23 to stop airing propaganda broadcasts which were switched back in early 2016 at the height of military tensions caused by North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests. North Korea took similar action.
In the run-up to the summit, the Koreas have already taken a series of conciliatory steps. A direct hotline was set up between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Cross-border propaganda broadcasts have been running on and off on both sides. In January 2016, South Korean loudspeakers were switched back after an 11-year break.
The DMZ is a four-kilometer-wide strip of land that has divided the Korean peninsula since an armistice accord ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The buffer zone was originally set up to be clear of heavy weapons with border guards allowed to use only personal sidearms like pistols for patrolling to prevent any unnecessary clashes.
Inside the zone, North Korea has deployed mortars and large-caliber machine guns at 160 guard posts, while South Korean troops have built concrete bunkers for guardposts in 60 places.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
