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ConflictsNorth Korea

North Korea ends military agreement with South

November 23, 2023

Pyongyang says it is retaliation for Seoul partially suspending the agreement on Wednesday following North Korea’s recent spy satellite launch.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as a rocket carrying a spy satellite Malligyong-1 is launched
According to state media, Kim Jong Un was already reviewing images of US military bases in Guam sent by a recently-launched spy satelliteImage: KCNA via REUTERS

North Korea on Thursday announced that it was ending a 2018 military agreement with South Korea.

It comes following Seoul's partial suspension of the pact aimed at reducing military tensions, with the South Korean government citing  Pyongyang's recent spy satellite launch as the reason behind the move.

The North responded by scrapping up the agreement entirely. The Defense Ministry in Pyongyang said in a statement that it will "never be bound" by the agreement, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

"We will withdraw the military steps, taken to prevent military tension and conflict in all spheres including ground, sea and air, and deploy more powerful armed forces and new-type military hardware in the region along the Military Demarcation Line," it said.

South Korea increases border surveillance

South Korea on Wednesday employed both manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft along the border for surveillance, Yonhap news agency said.

The US called South Korea's decision to suspend part of the agreement a "prudent and restrained response," following North Korea's "failure to adhere to the agreement."

Late on Wednesday, North Korea launched a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast. However, Seoul assessed that the launch seemed to have been unsuccessful.

North Korea launches spy satellite

On Tuesday, North Korea had announced that it placed its first spy satellite, Malligyong-1, in orbit.

South Korea confirmed Pyongyang's claim saying that its spy agency accessed that "the spy satellite launch was successful, and it has been put into orbital trajectory."

South Korean officials said the latest launch most likely involved Russian technical assistance as Pyongyang and Moscow have grown increasingly closer lately.

Both the UN and the US had condemned the launch because it was in violation of UN resolutions that bar North Korea's use of technology applicable to ballistic missile programs.

Pyongyang insists it is exercising its right to self-defense. According to state media, Kim Jong Un was already reviewing images of US military bases in Guam sent by the spy satellite.

South Korea, meanwhile, plans to launch its own spy satellite soon.

Concerns grow that North Korea is sending weapons to Russia

ss/rt (Reuters, AFP)