3-6-2024 (SEOUL) The South Korean government plans to suspend a crucial military agreement signed with North Korea in 2018, aimed at easing hostilities between the two nations. The decision comes in response to Pyongyang’s recent provocative actions, which involved launching hundreds of balloons carrying trash across the border into South Korean territory.
The announcement was made by the presidential office on Monday, following a stern warning from Seoul that a strong response would be forthcoming to address the North’s actions, which were deemed a provocation. Rejecting Pyongyang’s claim that the balloon launches were intended to inconvenience its neighbor, South Korea has signaled its determination to take decisive action.
According to a statement from the National Security Council, the plan to suspend the 2018 military agreement will be presented for approval at a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The Council emphasized that suspending the agreement would pave the way for South Korea to conduct military training near the border and “take sufficient and immediate measures” in response to North Korea’s provocation, although specific details of these measures were not provided.
The pact in question, which was hailed as the most substantive deal to emerge from the historic summit meetings between the two Koreas in 2018, had been effectively nullified when Pyongyang declared last year that it was no longer bound by its terms. Since then, North Korea has deployed troops and weapons at guard posts near the military border, further straining the fragile relations between the neighbors.
Justifying the decision to suspend the agreement, the Council stated, “By continuing to comply with the pact, there have been considerable problems in our military’s readiness posture.” This move is seen as a crucial step in bolstering South Korea’s defensive capabilities and sending a strong message to the North.
The tensions between the two Koreas have been exacerbated by North Korea’s recent launches of balloons carrying trash across the border, which South Korea has condemned as a provocative act. Pyongyang has claimed that the balloon launches were a retaliation against a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South, who regularly send inflatables containing anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, money, and USB sticks loaded with K-pop music videos and dramas across the border.
Experts suggest that North Korea has reacted angrily to this campaign due to concerns over the potential impact of the materials on the psychology of its people and the state’s control over public opinion.
