Kim Jong Un Plans Deployment Of New Weapons At Korean Border After South Korea Scraps 2018 Military Deal

In the wake of South Korea’s partial suspension of a 2018 military pact, Kim Jong Un‘s North Korea has announced plans to strengthen its military forces and station new weapons at its border with South Korea.

What Happened: According to a Reuters report, North Korea intends to reinstate all the military precautions halted under the agreement with South Korea. The intention of the agreement was to reduce border tensions.

Seoul’s decision to suspend parts of the military deal follows North Korea’s launch of an espionage satellite. South Korean officials suspect that the launching was facilitated by Russian technology, in line with a collaboration that has seen North Korea providing Russia with millions of artillery pieces.

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North Korea’s defense ministry has said, “From this point forward, our army will no longer be bound by the September 19 North-South Military Agreement. We will retract the military actions that were taken to avert military tension and conflict in all areas, including land, sea, and air, and will position more powerful military forces and new-type military equipment in the area along the Military Demarcation Line.”

In response to the suspension, South Korea has resumed utilizing manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the border area and is surveilling. Critics claim that the agreement impaired Seoul’s ability to monitor North Korea and that Pyongyang violated the agreement.

North Korea has cautioned that South Korea will be held “entirely responsible in the event of an irreparable clash” between the two Koreas.

Why It Matters: This development follows North Korea’s controversial launch of its first military spy satellite, which received widespread international criticism. The U.S. and the United Nations, among others, denounced the launch as a “blatant violation of several UN Security Council resolutions.”

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