South Korea Stops ‘Voice of Freedom’ Radio Broadcasts Aimed at North Korea

South Korea has stopped broadcasting a propaganda radio program into North Korea, the defense ministry said on Sept. 1, as part of wider efforts from Seoul to deescalate tensions with Pyongyang.

The Ministry of National Defense told reporters it had “halted the ‘Voice of Freedom’ broadcast as part of efforts to ease inter-Korean military tensions,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

“Voice of Freedom” aired items aimed at informing North Koreans about life outside of the isolated communist state, including South Korea’s economic development and K-pop culture.

It is the first suspension of the radio broadcast in 15 years. Broadcasts resumed in 2010 following the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors and was blamed on North Korea.

The move is the latest reconciliation measure enacted under the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. In August, Lee ordered the removal of the loudspeaker system from the demilitarized zone.

The Ministry of National Defense said on Aug. 4 it was a “practical measure that can help ease inter-Korean tensions without affecting the military’s readiness posture.”

South Scales Back Military Activities

In a speech marking the 80th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule, Lee announced that his government would reinstate a 2018 agreement with North Korea to scale back certain military activities along the border, saying it would help “prevent accidental clashes between the South and the North, and build military trust.”

The 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement was a deescalation measure that halted some military activities between the two countries. The pact included measures such as imposing no-fly zones, ending military drills near the demilitarized zone, and maintaining hotlines.

The agreement broke down in 2024 as cross-border tensions rose amid Pyongyang’s pursuit of weapons development.

Pyongyang abandoned the pact in November 2023, and former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol suspended it in June 2024, after North Korea sent more than 1,600 balloons carrying trash into the South. Pyongyang’s actions prompted Seoul to recommence broadcasting messages on loudspeakers near their shared border, a practice that was halted under the 2018 agreement.

Pyongyang has rejected Seoul’s attempts to ease tensions, saying it is not interested in a dialogue with South Korea.

After Lee announced plans to scale back some military activities, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said hopes that Pyongyang would respond to the efforts were a “pipe dream.”

“Whether or not the [Republic of Korea] withdraws its loudspeakers, stops broadcasting, postpones its military exercises, and downscales them, we do not care about them and are not interested in them,” she said.

U.S.–South Korean Ties

South and North Korea remain technically at war, as the 1950–1953 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Since the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, Seoul and Washington have forged a close alliance, cemented by the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty on Oct. 1, 1953.

The U.S. Department of State describes the Mutual Defense Treaty as the “linchpin for security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”

“Over 28,500 U.S. military personnel are stationed in [South Korea] and work closely with the [South Korean] military and United Nations Command member countries to deter and defend against the threat from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and maintain the Korean Armistice Agreement,” the State Department said in a Jan. 20 statement.

Part of that work includes annual joint military drills, the latest of which took place last month.

Lee met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 to discuss defense, trade, and investment, and both presidents indicated their desire to restart talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Reuters contributed to this report.