Pyongyang did not respond to Seoul's plan to repatriate the remains of a North Korean national discovered on the southern side of the inter-Korean border.

SEOUL—Attempts by the new government of South Korea to improve relations with its neighbor hit a snag Tuesday, after Pyongyang failed to respond to a deadline to claim the body of a North Korean farmworker.

South Korea's proposal to return a North Korean body was ignored by Pyongyang, hindering hopes for renewed inter-Korean dialogue.

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.

In an attempt to ease tensions with the north, South Korea is dismantling propaganda loudspeakers at the border

As of Monday, North Korea had yet to respond by removing its own front-line loudspeakers. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean Foreign Ministry for comment. South Korea's move comes 14 months after speakers along the border were reactivated to broadcast K-pop music and anti-North Korean rhetoric.