North Korea is scaling back and turning off its propaganda broadcasts at the border with South Korea, a South Korean source said Tuesday, a move seemingly in tandem with the South's suspension of its loudspeaker broadcasts earlier this week.

The mayor of the South Korean village of Daeseong-dong, located close to the border, separately confirmed the development to Kyodo News and other media outlets, saying, "Previously it was noisy enough to disrupt our daily lives, but it has become quiet from late afternoon Monday."

The South Korean Defense Ministry suspended its propaganda broadcasts on Monday to create a "peaceful" atmosphere ahead of Friday's inter-Korean summit talks. The speakers had been running since January 2016 in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test.

At the border, the two Koreas have conducted propaganda broadcasts on and off for decades, with the South Korean speakers sending out K-pop music and various messages to demonstrate the superiority of the South Korean system.

Daeseong-dong is the only civilian residential area on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, and residents there have long been blasted with propaganda from North Korea's loudspeakers. It is also located adjacent to Panmunjeom, the venue for the inter-Korean summit.

"We have been worried and nervous because we live near North Korea, but the atmosphere of the village has brightened up ahead of the summit talks, during which there may be discussions to change the armistice treaty (with North Korea into a peace agreement)," said Kim Dong Gu, the mayor of Daeseong-dong.

The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty.

"I would like to visit (North Korea if the ties improve), because I have heard from the elderly that they used to visit the village on the northern side (before the two countries were separated)" Kim said.

The village has conducted evacuation drills a few times a year, according to the principal of a local elementary school.

"The children all know about the summit and they are happy about the peaceful moves," the principal said.

Tensions had been running high on the Korean Peninsula last year as North Korea continued to move ahead with its nuclear and missile development programs in defiance of international warnings and U.N. sanctions.

But inter-Korean relations have rapidly thawed following North Korea's sudden diplomatic outreach in recent months, starting from its decision to take part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics hosted by South Korea in February.