Camilla Jessen
After months of strange noises blaring from the North, tensions ease slightly along the Korean border.
For the first time in months, North Korea has stopped sending strange noises across the border into South Korea, according to South Korea’s military on Thursday.
This comes just one day after South Korea decided to turn off its own loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at the North.
The move follows a promise from South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, who wants to rebuild trust between the two countries.
“Today, there were no areas where sound emissions were heard from North Korea towards the South,” South Korea’s military said in a statement reported by AFP via Digi24.
Officials added that they are still keeping a close eye on the situation.
A Year of Back-and-Forth Noise
The noise broadcasts started last year, as both sides stepped up their psychological battle.
North Korea blasted disturbing sounds toward South Korea at all hours of the day and night. Many people living near the border complained that it was hard to sleep or relax because of the noise.
On Ganghwa Island, near the border northwest of Seoul, residents noticed a change on Wednesday evening.
“Yesterday, between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., the North broadcast propaganda music instead of strange noises,” said local official Park Heung-yeol.
The peace was a relief. “I slept very well last night. This hasn’t happened to me in a long time,” said resident An Mi-hee to AFP.
A Softer Approach
The recent quiet may be a result of South Korea’s new leadership.
President Lee Jae-myung has said he wants to improve relations with North Korea. As a first step, South Korea stopped its own broadcasts on Wednesday.
Before this, South Korea had restarted its loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years.
These broadcasts played K-pop songs, news reports, and other information aimed at challenging North Korea’s state-controlled media.
South Korea had resumed them after North Korea sent balloons filled with trash into the South earlier this year, increasing tensions.
Relations between the two Koreas got worse under former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took a tough stance against the North.
Yoon was impeached in April after trying to impose martial law during protests at home. This opened the way for President Lee to try a different approach.