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.

SEOUL and LONDON -- The South Korean military began dismantling loudspeakers that had been placed along its border with North Korea, South Korea's Defense Ministry said.

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.