North Korea made it known on Thursday that it plans to position a new military arsenal along the boundary line with South Korea. This move comes after Seoul partially withdrew from a 2018 agreement intended to defuse border tensions, as revealed by government-run media.
The decision was taken by North Korea, following Seoul’s promise to enhance its intelligence gathering and surveillance within the demilitarized zone (DMZ). This was in reaction to North Korea’s unprecedented launch of a spy satellite on Tuesday, which experts suggest could provide vital information to better strategize against adversaries.
Such action by Seoul is considered a slight pullback from the Inter-Korean Military Agreement, signed in 2018, aimed at mitigating the threat of warfare on the Korean Peninsula while expanding the separation zone between both Koreas.
The signing was carried out by then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Panmunjom at the border, the agreement conceded that “The Korean Peninsula will no longer be a battleground, marking the commencement of a peaceful epoch.”
The intended goodwill of this agreement has diminished over the years. Kim, having not received the concessions he expected from the US and South Korea in subsequent discussions, has since accelerated North Korea’s ballistic missile program, committing to equip Pyongyang with a nuclear deterrent similar to that of Washington.
In response to North Korea’s military expansion, the US and South Korea, in collaboration with Japan, have enhanced their military alliances via exercises and strategic positioning that Pyongyang perceives as a menace.
Earlier this week, North Korea expressed strong disapproval over the US’s possible sales of progressive missiles to Japan and military hardware to South Korea, referring to it as “a dangerous action” according to a KCNA report.
North Korea highlighted it was “clear” where the offensive military equipment would be targeted and deployed.
North Korea’s Defence Ministry, in a statement mentioned on Thursday, emphasized that its armed forces wouldn’t be limited by the military agreement. It swore to introduce “more formidable armed forces and new-class military equipment in the area along the Military Demarcation Line”, as reported by KCNA.
They claimed that the agreement has been disregarded due to South Korea’s intentional and inflammatory actions, and cautioned that it would face severe repercussions for its “reckless political and military provocations that have escalated the current situation to an unmanageable phase”, as stated by KCNA.
Pyongyang further mentioned that South Korea will bear full responsibility for any conflicts that might transpire between the two Koreas.
“The grave situation in the Military Demarcation Line region, where the world’s most intense military confrontation persists and any minor incident might escalate a military conflict to full-scale war, is irreversibly out of control, owing to the severe mistake committed by the political and military marauders of the ‘ROK [Republic of Korea]’,” KCNA reported