South Korea’s Cabinet approved the full suspension of the 2018 inter-Korean pact after the North repeatedly jammed GPS signals along the inter-Korean border and flew hundreds of trash-laden balloons into the country.
Two days ago, South Korean presidential office warned it would take “unbearable” measures against the North for its recent actions.
The country's defense ministry criticized “intentional and repeated violations” of the inter-Korean military pact by the North over the years, such as its firing of a ballistic missile south of the de facto maritime border in November 2022 and invasion of South Korean airspace using drones the following month.
Military officials were quoted as saying by South Korean media that the country “plans to once again conduct drills inside the buffer zone” that had been established by the accord.
The National Security Council (NSC) recommended suspending the accord the previous day. The NSC motion, approved on May 4 by the Cabinet, restricts both Koreas from conducting live artillery drills or outdoor exercises involving units larger than a single regiment within a 5-kilometer buffer zone along the military demarcation line (MDL) that divides the peninsula. The accord also prohibits warships and coastal guns from firing live artillery shells in the Yellow Sea and East Sea, and fixed-wing aircraft from conducting tactical drills with air-to-surface missiles within the buffer zone.
Over the past week, North Korea launched nearly 1,000 balloons into South Korea, carrying trash, excrement, and propaganda leaflets. Although these balloons didn’t directly harm anyone, they violated the Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War.
Additionally, North Korea continued its fifth consecutive day of jamming navigation or GPS signals in South Korea’s northwestern region on June 2. Seoul has reported these GPS jamming activities to the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Furthermore, North Korea attempted to launch a spy satellite into orbit on May 27 and fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, violating United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that prohibit such launches or tests involving ballistic missile technology.
In response, North Korea’s defense ministry announced through state media that it would resume all previously banned activities and deploy stronger armed forces and new military hardware along the MDL. It also declared that the country would not be bound by the agreement in the future and warned Seoul of consequences for abrogating parts of the pact.