North Korea had already declared the 2018 agreement with South Korea on confidence-building measures to be terminated in November. Now South Korea also feels too restricted by the agreements.
South Korea's government has approved the suspension of an agreement with North Korea on detente measures, paving the way for the resumption of all military activities on the heavily fortified border. All activities by its own armed forces along the military demarcation line and on the northwestern islands, which had been restricted by the 2018 military agreement, would be normalized again, Vice Defense Minister Cho Chang Rae said in Seoul on Tuesday. The cabinet and President Yoon Suk Yeol had previously approved a motion to temporarily suspend the agreement.
The background to the move is the growing tensions on the Korean peninsula. South Korea recently warned North Korea of tough countermeasures after the isolated neighboring country sent a series of balloons filled with garbage across the border. South Korea's military also accused its neighbor of carrying out disruptive attacks on the GPS satellite navigation system in the border region. North Korea said the balloon attacks were a response to the frequent sending of propaganda leaflets by South Korean organizations across the border. On Sunday, North Korea then announced that it wanted to end the actions for the time being.
Cho did not give any details about planned military activities on the border. By suspending the agreement, which North Korea declared to be terminated months ago, South Korea can, however, once again hold military exercises near the border aimed at its neighbor and, in theory, start broadcasting propaganda again. The agreement also stipulated no-fly zones in the border area. In addition, no more naval maneuvers were to take place in a buffer zone in the Yellow Sea.
In September 2018, both sides agreed on a series of measures to prevent incidents at the border. However, due to the launch of a spy satellite by North Korea, South Korea had already suspended parts of the agreement in November. North Korea then announced that it no longer wanted to adhere to the entire agreement.
