The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed South Korean claims that North Korea is removing loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border.

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday denied Seoul's claim that the North had begun removing propaganda speakers inside the DMZ.

In a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee said he would restore the so-called September 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement, a de-escalation measure that halted some military activities at the border between North Korea and South Korea.

The North Korean leader's powerful sister said on Thursday that the country has never taken down propaganda loudspeakers and will not do so, calling South Korea's belief that Pyongyang was responding to its peace overtures a "pipedream.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Friday to "respect" North Korea's political system and build "military trust", a day after Pyongyang said it had no interest in improving relations with Seoul.

Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, conveyed greetings from the Russian leader and thanked Kim for North Korea's support of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. Putin held a phone call with Kim on Tuesday and updated him on planned talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Kim Jong-un’s daughter is rising in status through increasing state media coverage. Experts say that she is perhaps being groomed to take the reins of the isolated, nuclear-armed regime one day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as "heroic" in a letter to Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported Friday.