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.

The drills, which will kick off next week, are a "direct military provocation" against North Korea, Pyongyang said.

North Korean troops have started removing propaganda loudspeakers used to blare unsettling noises along the border, South Korea's military said Saturday, days after Seoul's new administration dismantled ones on its side of the frontier.