N. Korea appears to halt broadcasts of 'loud noises' following South's lead

Peaceful silence is back in the border areas between the two Koreas.

Following South Korea's suspension of propaganda broadcasts on Wednesday, the North followed suit the next day.

Our correspondent Kim Bo-kyoung starts us off.

North Korea's first response to the new South Korean administration's move, has been to mutually reduce tensions.

Pyongyang appears to have paused its broadcasts of "loud noises" toward South Korea on Thursday, following South Korea's suspension of loudspeaker messages the day before.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the South Korean military has not detected any broadcasts since late last night, though it needs to see if the pause will continue.

"There are no areas where we can currently hear the broadcasts. Though it stopped late last night, and there were certainly no broadcasts early this morning or at dawn, it is uncertain whether this will continue in the afternoon. We are keeping a close eye on the situation."

This follows the South Korean military's move to halt loudspeaker broadcasts against the North in border areas the day before, in accordance with President Lee's order.

"President Lee Jae-myung recently made this decision as a proactive measure to ease tensions, given the absence of any significant provocations from North Korea. This action is aimed at alleviating the military standoff between the two Koreas and opening the way for restoring mutual trust."

The halt came for the first time in a year, since the former administration resumed the broadcasts last June, for the first time in six years, in response to North Korea flying trash-filled balloons across the border.

For now, the JCS said there are no changes to scheduled plans to conduct training in border areas.

With the first step taken to allay inter-Korean tensions, eyes are on whether this could serve as a momentum for President Lee to push his presidential campaign pledge: reversing the full suspension of the September 19th Inter-Korean Military Agreement.

An expert says it won't be easy to do it quickly.

"If things develop further, the restoration of inter-Korean communication and liaison channels could pave the way for dialogue. However, I believe there are still many obstacles to fully restoring the September 19 military agreement."

As restoring the agreement is something that cannot be done unilaterally or preemptively, the expert added it should be pushed forward in a planned manner.

Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.