Seoul on Wednesday partially suspended an inter-Korean military agreement designed to ease tensions and decided to resume surveillance operations along the border with North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s launch of a spy satellite. The South Korean government said it was a “necessary measure” for self-defense.
At an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said North Korea’s latest provocation ― and violation of the agreement ― shows it has no intention to comply with it.
“A partial suspension of the agreement is a necessary measure for national security and the minimum action for self-defense,” he said after endorsing the proposal. It was subsequently approved in less than an hour by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to Britain.
North Korea said it placed its first reconnaissance satellite in orbit on Tuesday and vowed to launch more in the near future, despite South Korea’s warning that such obvious violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions could lead to the official suspension of the military accord.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed later that day that the North Korean satellite entered orbit successfully. However the military advisory group said it would require further analysis to determine whether it can function as a reconnaissance satellite.
“North Korea’s launch of a so-called military reconnaissance satellite, whether it succeeds or not, chiefly aims to develop surveillance capabilities and the performance of its intercontinental ballistic missile in a (broader) effort to materialize its nuclear and missile threats,” Yoon said at a National Security Council meeting, according to the presidential office.
In a statement, the council said the military accord, inked by the previous Moon Jae-in administration on Sept. 9, 2018, amid a thaw in relations, has virtually been nullified by repeated violations by North Korea ― nearly 3,600 times, according to military officials.
The government decision immediately suspended the effectiveness of Article 1, Clause 3 of the agreement, under which the militaries of South Korea and the North should abide by no-fly zones established close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
President Yoon Suk Yeol presides over a National Security Council meeting from a hotel in London during his state visit to Britain, on Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of the presidential office
South Korea’s military said it will resume aerial surveillance and exercises involving aircraft, including drones, in border areas without specifying a date.
“A helicopter carrying a commander had to land before reaching the no-fly zones, where the commander should move around by car, say, to inspect frontline bases,” a high-ranking official at the Ministry of National Defense told reporters. “With the no-fly zones suspended, our military assets in the air can now conduct exercises to their full capacity near the border areas.”
On the same day, the nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan ― Kim Gunn, Jung Pak and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively ― spoke by phone and strongly condemned the latest provocation by North Korea.
“They also expressed deep concern that the North carried out a deceptive launch, as it came more than an hour before the time it had previously announced, seriously jeopardizing the safety of planes and vessels this time again,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul said in a statement.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Pyongyang for carrying out a military satellite launch using ballistic missile technology.
This Wednesday photo shows the U-2S Dragon Lady, a surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, landing on the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Newsis
“Any launch by the DPRK (North Korea) using ballistic missile technology goes against relevant Security Council resolutions,” the statement said. “The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions.”
According to military officials, South Korea is now in talks with the U.S. and Japan to conduct joint maritime drills possibly involving key strategic assets in the coming days.
On Wednesday, The USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, arrived at Jeju Naval Base, joining the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that docked in Busan the previous day.
“We’re in consultations to conduct combined South Korea-U.S., and South Korea-U.S.-Japan maritime exercises in the southern waters of the Korean Peninsula this weekend,” an official said.
