South Korea has started to dismantle loudspeakers along the border with North Korea that broadcast anti-Pyongyang messaging. The move was initiated by the new Lee Jae Myung administration in Seoul as part of a series of conciliatory gestures aimed at de-escalating tensions on the peninsula.

The speakers had previously been used to blast anti-North Korean propaganda, but the new liberal government in South Korea halts the broadcasts as it looks revive dialogue with Pyongyang.

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities began removing on Monday loudspeakers blaring anti-North Korea broadcasts along the country's border, Seoul's defence ministry said, as the new government of President Lee Jae Myung seeks to ease tensions with Pyongyang.