Seoul halts ‘Voice of Freedom’ broadcasts to North Korea for first time in 15 years

SEOUL, Sept 1 — South Korea has halted its military-run radio programme to North Korea in a bid to ease tensions with Pyongyang, the Defence Ministry announced today.

This marks the first suspension of the broadcasts in 15 years, since they were reintroduced following North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean warship, local media reported.

The programme, known as “Voice of Freedom”, featured content ranging from news about the North’s regime to South Korea’s economic progress and K-pop, and has long been used as a psychological warfare tool against Pyongyang.

“The Ministry of National Defence has suspended broadcasts of Voice of Freedom as part of measures to reduce military tensions between the South and North,” deputy ministry spokesperson Lee Kyung-ho told reporters.

The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950–53 Korean conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Shortly after taking office in June, President Lee Jae Myung’s administration also shut down border loudspeakers blasting anti-regime messages as part of efforts to revive stalled dialogue with Pyongyang.

Lee has pledged to pursue additional steps to ease tensions, even proposing a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to advance peace efforts.

However, Pyongyang has so far dismissed his outreach, declaring it has no interest in talks with Seoul.

Kim is scheduled to visit China this week to attend a military parade alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. — AFP