By Lee Min-hyung

South Korea has stopped anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts at the border town of Panmunjeom in a move to ease inter-Korean military tension ahead of a historic summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the defense ministry said Monday.

"As of Monday, Seoul has halted loudspeaker broadcasts near the military demarcation line to boost the ongoing inter-Korean peace momentum and alleviate military tension before the summit on Friday," the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

The ministry declined to comment on whether it will resume operating the broadcasts after the summit.

"We expect our latest decision to pave the way for peace and a new beginning in inter-Korean relations," the ministry said.

This comes more than two years after the South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in January 2016 after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test.

The suspension of the propaganda broadcasts is an apparent peace gesture to the North, with Seoul seeking to extend the momentum for a longer period. The anti-North loudspeakers have so far served as a key measure to denounce the regime's political system and military provocations near the border town.

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Seoul and Pyongyang have yet to reach a consensus over a string of measures to ease inter-Korean military tension.

The ministry did not elaborate on whether the move came in response to the North's recent decision to halt missile and nuclear tests. On Saturday, the regime said it would stop nuclear tests and shut down a nuclear test site.

The defense ministry removed the loudspeakers in 2004 during the former President Roh Moo-hyun administration after reaching an agreement with the North.

But Seoul reinstalled the loudspeakers in 2010 when the regime was involved in a torpedo attack on the South's frigate Cheonan, which left 46 South Korean sailors dead.

After the summit, the two Koreas are expected to unveil a list of agreements following military talks. A detailed timeline for possible inter-Korean military dialogue has yet to be confirmed, but chances are that a schedule will be arranged shortly after the summit.


Joint drills go as planned

Despite the ongoing reconciliatory gestures from Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington are carrying out their joint military exercises as planned.

On Monday, the two countries began their annual Key Resolve combined exercise. Given the inter-Korean peace signals, they plan to keep the two-week-long drill low-key.

The exercise is in line with the Foal Eagle drill, which Seoul and Washington have conducted for four weeks from April 1.

The joint drills, which were originally scheduled sometime between late February and early March, were delayed until after the closing of the PyeongChang Paralympics last month. South Korea and the U.S. made the decision, as the exercises could have invited unnecessary military provocations from the North during the Winter Olympics which began in mid-February.

But with Kim Jong-un offering to hold summits with his South Korean and the U.S. counterparts, Seoul and Washington have maintained a low-key posture so as not to provoke the regime at a time when the North has pledged to denuclearize the peninsula, and is sending rare messages for peace.