S Korea military halts loudspeaker broadcasts against North

South Korea yesterday halted loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into the nuclear-armed North, the defence ministry said, adding it was a bid to "restore trust" under Seoul's new administration.

The decision to suspend the broadcasts was "to make good on a promise to restore trust in South-North Korea relations and seek peace on the Korean peninsula", the defence ministry said in a brief statement.

A ministry spokesperson told AFP the broadcasts were halted yesterday afternoon.

Ties between the two Koreas deteriorated under the hardline administration of hawkish ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol.

But Yoon was impeached and stripped of office earlier this year over an abortive martial law declaration. After winning last week's snap poll, Seoul's new President Lee Jae-myung pledged to improve ties with Pyongyang.