South Korea sees signs North is dismantling border loudspeakers: Defence ministry

South Korea's Ministry of Defence said Tuesday it sees signs that North Korea has started dismantling loudspeakers that blared propaganda across the border.

The apparent move comes after South Korea said a day earlier it would do the same, starting on Tuesday. They are some of the first practical, if small, steps toward reconciliation following Friday's summit between the leaders of the two nations.

As a goodwill gesture ahead of the summit, South Korea had turned off its loudspeakers that broadcast a mixture of news, Korean pop songs and criticism of the North Korean regime.

In another small sign, North Korea said Monday it would shift its clocks forward half an hour to align with its southern neighbour. 

Last week, the leaders of North and South Korea pledged at their historic summit to work for the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula, but US President Donald Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

The day produced dramatic images and emotions for Koreans and a sweeping declaration, but was short on specific commitments and failed to clear up key questions about Pyongyang's intentions over its nuclear arsenal ahead of the US-North Korean summit expected in coming weeks. Holding the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade - an event marked by smiles, handshakes and embraces - South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim agreed to work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War and establish a permanent peace agreement. Trump, who has raised expectations that his meeting with Kim will deliver tangible results, said he looked forward to the encounter and expressed hope it would be productive.

But even as the Koreas agreed on a common goal of a "nuclear-free" peninsula, they stopped short of spelling out exactly what that meant or how it might come about. The Trump administration defines "denuclearisation" as Kim giving up his nuclear weapons, something he has been unwilling to do. North Korea has historically demanded the United States withdraw its troops and remove its "nuclear umbrella" of support for the South. Moon agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, the leaders said.Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border.