Propaganda to be scaled down on Korean border

The cacophony of propaganda anthems, bellowing in a time-honoured tradition along the tense border between South and North Korea, entered a final refrain today with an agreement to phase out such broadcasts and propaganda signboards in the coming months.

The war of words along the heavily fortified no man’s land separating North and South dates to the 1950-53 Korean War.

The war devastated the peninsula and left tens of thousands of troops arrayed along the frontier.

The South uses towering electronic billboards, reminiscent of the Hollywood sign overlooking Los Angeles, to beam weather reports, world news and salutations to its communist neighbour.

The North rejoins with signboards of its own to relay such messages as Let’s Establish a Confederate Nation!

From strategically placed loudspeakers, both Koreas blare music that reverberates across the two and a half wide Demilitarised Zone, a Cold War vestige strewn with mine fields, barbed wire and tank traps.

Yet in a small sign of rapprochement between the former battlefield foes, the two Koreas agreed today after an all-night negotiating session to try easing tensions, in part, by ending such propaganda efforts.

The phase out begins on June 15, the fourth anniversary of a historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the South’s then-President Kim Dae-jung.

A month later, there will ideally be no more booming music or signboards, according to a joint statement both countries released after the talks.