00:00South Korea has suspended broadcasts of a propaganda radio program into the North
00:05in an effort to ease tensions with Pyongyang.
00:09This is the first time Seoul has halted the program, known as Voice of Freedom, in 15 years.
00:16The move follows President Lee Jae-myung's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations
00:21and reopen dialogue with North Korea, although Pyongyang has expressed its disinterest.
00:26Lee, who took office in June, had ordered the military to stop the broadcast
00:30and urged activists to cease sending balloons across the border.
00:35The radio program previously carried content such as news on South Korean economic development and K-pop culture.
00:42Last year, it reported on North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine.
00:48The program has been used for years as a tool for South Korea's psychological operations against the North.
00:54Seoul had resumed the program in May 2010 after North Korea sank a South Korean warship.
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