FOLLOW US

America April 30, 2018 4 mins read

Propaganda No More? South Korea to remove loudspeakers at border

America ı By USA Herald

0 Comments

South Korea – Stand Down

South Korea will remove propaganda-broadcasting loudspeakers from the border with North Korea this week, officials said Monday, as the rivals move to follow through with their leaders’ summit declaration that produced reconciliation steps without a breakthrough in the nuclear standoff.

During their historic meeting Friday at a Korean border village, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to end hostile acts against each other along their tense border, establish a liaison office and resume reunions of separated families. They also agreed to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, but failed to produce specific time frames and disarmament steps.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it would pull back dozens of its front-line loudspeakers on Tuesday before media cameras. Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyunsoo said Seoul expected Pyongyang to do the same.

South Korea had already turned off its loudspeakers ahead of Friday’s summit talks, and North Korea responded by halting its own broadcasts.

The two Koreas had been engaged in Cold War-era psychological warfare since the North’s fourth nuclear test in early 2016. Seoul began blaring anti-Pyongyang broadcasts and K-Pop songs via border loudspeakers, and Pyongyang quickly matched the South’s action with its own border broadcasts and launches of balloons carrying anti-South leaflets.

Seoul’s announcement came a day after it said Kim told Moon during the summit that he would shut down his country’s only known nuclear testing site and allow outside experts and journalists to watch the process.

South Korean officials also cited Kim as saying he would be willing to give up his nuclear programs if the United States commits to a formal end to the Korean War and a pledge not to attack the North. Kim had already suspended his nuclear and missile tests while offering to put his nukes up for negotiations.

The closing of the Punggy-ri test site, where all six of North Korea’s atomic bomb tests occurred, could be an eye-catching disarmament step by Pyongyang. But there is still deep skepticism over whether Kim is truly willing to negotiate away the nukes that his country has built after decades of struggle.

According to a summit accord, Kim and Moon agreed to achieve “a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization,” rather than clearly stating “a nuclear-free North Korea.” Pyongyang has long said the term “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” must include the United States pulling its 28,500 troops out of South Korea and removing its so-called “nuclear umbrella” security commitment to South Korea and Japan.

Kim could offer more disarmament concessions during his meeting with President Donald Trump, expected in May or June, but it’s unclear what specific steps he would take. Some experts say Kim may announce scraping North Korea’s long-range missile program, which has posed a direct threat to the United States.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton reacted coolly to word that Kim would abandon his weapons if the United States pledged not to invade.

Asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether the U.S. would make such a promise, Bolton said: “Well, we’ve heard this before. This is — the North Korean propaganda playbook is an infinitely rich resource. What we want to see from them is evidence that it’s real and not just rhetoric.”

Kim’s meeting with Moon was his second summit with a foreign leader since he took office in late 2011. In March, he traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While meeting with Xi, Kim suggested he prefers a step-by-step disarmament process in line with corresponding outside rewards, according to Chinese state media. U.S. officials want the North to take complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament measures.

China said Monday that its foreign minister, Wang Yi, will visit Pyongyang on Wednesday and Thursday.

China is North Korea’s only major economic partner, but trade has declined by about 90 percent following Beijing’s implementation of economic sanctions imposed over the North’s nuclear and missile tests. Some analysts say Kim’s recent charm offensive was aimed at weakening the sanctions.

Also on Monday, the North’s parliament adopted a decree to sync its time zone with South Korea’s this Saturday. North Korea’s official news agency said the move was made at the proposal of Kim, who found it was “a painful wrench to see two clocks indicating Pyongyang and Seoul times hanging on a wall of the summit venue.”

Moon’s office said Sunday that Kim made similar remarks to Moon during the summit.

The North in 2015 had set its clock 30 minutes behind South Korea and Japan, saying the measure was aimed at rooting out the legacy of Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Previous Article

North Korea Submits: nuke test site to close in May, unify time zone

Read More
348 Posts

USA Herald

We are The People’s Media. USA Herald covers breaking news, politics, and investigative journalism. For anonymous tips please contact Support AT usaherald.com.

Discussion

No comments yet. Be the first to join the discussion!

Don’t Miss It
America October 26, 2026 FORTRESS America: Bases Prepare for 90-Day Wartime Isolation By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 23, 2026
Lying to Congress: Two Former FBI…

WASHINGTON — Lying to Congress is at the center of…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 23, 2026
Cybersecurity Experts Warn Users to Strengthen…

Cybersecurity experts are urging consumers and businesses to strengthen their…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 23, 2026
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson…

Friends, family and fellow service members are remembering Air Force…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 23, 2026
Evanston $1M Settlement Dispute Ends With…

An Alabama daycare negligence case that produced a $1 million…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 23, 2026
Anthony Richardson Marijuana Possession Charge Follows…

Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Anthony Richardson is facing a misdemeanor…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 23, 2026
SpaceX, Tesla Merger: Boards Launch Review…

The possibility of a SpaceX, Tesla merger has moved beyond…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 23, 2026
Steve McBee $7.1M Insurance Fraud Case:…

Steve McBee Sr., the patriarch of the reality television series…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 23, 2026
Connor Hellebuyck Traded to New Jersey…

The New Jersey Devils have made a major move to…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 23, 2026
Education Department Drops PSLF Challenge, Delivering…

Federal student loan borrowers have secured a significant victory after…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 23, 2026
Humana and UnitedHealthcare Cancel Medicare Advantage…

Nearly 1 million Americans are facing a shake-up in their…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 23, 2026
Lawyers Could Collect $1.27 Billion in…

Outside lawyers in the Meta privacy case could collect up…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 23, 2026
Plutonium Pit Production Faces Safety and…

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department has approved full construction of…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 22, 2026
Pope Leo XIV Needs No Further…

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV will not require additional…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 22, 2026
Six Women Testify in Russell Brand…

LONDON — Six women have testified in the Russell Brand…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 22, 2026
Websites Go Dark as AI Uncovers…

The PHP security crisis has pushed government websites offline and…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 21, 2026
El Nino Could Reach Historic Strength,…

GENEVA — El Nino, a powerful climate pattern that warms…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 21, 2026
News Overload Can Fuel Anxiety and…

News keeps people informed about wars, political conflict, public safety…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 21, 2026
Atlanta Rapper Indicted in Alleged $4.6…

ATLANTA — Shawtey Dred, the social media persona of Atlanta…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 23, 2026
Wall Street Rattled: Nasdaq Plunges 2.6%…

NEW YORK — A fresh wave of doubt about the…

By – Derek Johnson
America October 21, 2026
Meta Stock in Focus as Earnings,…

Meta delivered a powerful revenue performance in its third-quarter earnings…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 21, 2026
Pantheon $6B Secondaries Fund Marks Firm’s…

Private markets investor Pantheon has secured $6 billion in capital…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 21, 2026
TDI Launches Insurance Fraud Task Force…

The Texas Department of Insurance has launched a coordinated push…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 21, 2026
Children’s Mercy Insurance Coverage Changes: Kansas…

Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City will no longer participate…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 21, 2026
BioWare Closing: EA Shuts Down Legendary…

Electronic Arts is reshaping its videogame empire in a sweeping…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 20, 2026
Extreme Heat Is Spreading and Lasting…

An extreme heat event lasting 367 days touched nearly 85%…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 16, 2026
HealthSplash VP 18 Months Sentencing Rewards…

Cooperation can shave years off a prison term, but it…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 16, 2026
Daylight Saving Time Returns Nov. 1…

Americans will turn their clocks back one hour on Nov.…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 16, 2026
California Identifies New York Life, Aetna,…

Key Takeaways   California’s Department of Insurance maintains an official…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 16, 2026
Three Children, Teacher Killed in Oregon…

BEND, Ore. — An Oregon school shooting killed three children…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 15, 2026
Trump Scraps Hegseth’s Execution Livestream After…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump canceled the planned execution livestream…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 19, 2026
Information Ecosystem: Five Tools to Detect…

The information ecosystem is increasingly vulnerable to misinformation. There are…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 19, 2026
An Airman Died After a Pregame…

By Michallie K. Harrison | Opinion Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson’s…

By – Michallie K Harrison
America October 16, 2026
NFL Player $300M Hip Surgery Lawsuit…

Athletes bet their bodies on surgeons the way pilots bet…

By – Tyler Brooks
America October 16, 2026
Russian Drone Strikes Hit American Businesses…

Russian drone strikes against American-linked businesses in Ukraine are raising…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 11, 2026
AP Poll Top 25: Georgia Claims…

Georgia has reclaimed the top spot in the AP Poll…

By – Rachel Moore
America October 10, 2026
A.J. Armstrong: Former NFL Player’s Son…

 HOUSTON — Antonio “A.J.” Armstrong Jr., the son of former…

By – Jackie Allen

No posts found.

No posts found.

Signup for the USA Herald
exclusive Newsletter