South Korea Stops Propaganda Broadcasting Against DPRK in Demilitarized Zone

TOKYO (Sputnik) — South Korea turned off the loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda in the demilitarized zone, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, following marathon talks, two Koreas reached an agreement to defuse tensions which escalated last week.

The talks were launched on Saturday and lasted for more than 40 hours.

Following the agreement, the sides issued a joint statement, under which South Korea promised to stop the anti-North Korean broadcasts, while North Korea expressed regret for what it termed the "provocations."

The tensions on the divided Korean peninsula escalated on Thursday, as North Korea reportedly fired shells at a South Korean military base across the demilitarized zone. Seoul responded with dozens of heavy artillery rounds.

The conflict aggravated as Seoul restarted anti-Pyongyang broadcasting propaganda along the border, a practice suspended for over a decade.

The decision to hold talks was agreed just hours before the North Korean ultimatum for Seoul to dismantle loudspeakers broadcasting propaganda was to expire.