Why South Korea suddenly stopped blasting propaganda up North

South Korea announced April 23, 2018, it has halted its propaganda broadcasts, which it blasts from speakers along the Korean border, in preparation of a highly-anticipated summit between President Moon Jae In and Kim Jong Un.

South Korea's defense ministry announced in a statement it would pause its radio program in order to "reduce military tensions between the South and North and create the mood of peaceful talks."

"We hope this decision will lead both Koreas to stop mutual criticism and propaganda against each other and also contribute in creating peace and a new beginning," the defense ministry said.

South Korea's pausing of the program would be the first time it has done so in two years.

South Korea's propaganda program has used giant loudspeakers periodically since the Korean War but has become more subtle in recent years, according to the BBC. The system is used as a type of psychological warfare against North Korea, and broadcasts news, criticism of the Kim regime, and even K-Pop music across the border in hopes of spreading information and spurring North Koreans to defect.

North Korea also has its own loudspeaker system along the border, although defense officials told Reuters they could not verify whether North Korea had ended their broadcasts though their volume was softened ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The high-level inter-Korean summit is set to take place in the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018.

The Korean leaders have held talks only twice since the end of the Korean War which has led to decades of tension between the two nations.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.