North Korea seems to mirror South Korea by halting loudspeaker broadcasts.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea appears to have ceased its loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). On Thursday, the JCS reported that no loudspeaker transmissions from North Korea were detected, and they emphasized that the South Korean military is keeping a close watch on developments in Pyongyang. This change follows South Korea’s own decision to halt its loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea on Wednesday.

Last year, Seoul had resumed its propaganda broadcasts, including K-pop music, in response to escalating tensions with its northern neighbor. Newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who took office this month with intentions to foster dialogue with North Korea, ordered the cessation of these broadcasts to ease military tensions and build trust. This decision comes as North Korea has recently refrained from provocative actions.

Residents living near the heavily fortified border have expressed concerns regarding the loudspeaker broadcasts, citing significant noise nuisance as a primary issue. When South Korea resumed its all-day loudspeaker campaigns in July, it did so as a reaction to North Korea launching balloons containing trash over the border. North Korea justified those balloon launches as retaliation against propaganda efforts by North Korean defectors and activists in South Korea, who regularly send balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and other materials into the North.

The situation between the two Koreas remains tense, as they are technically still at war, stemming from the armistice that ended hostilities during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.