North Korea is building new guard posts along its border where dismantled ones previously stood, and is deploying troops and heavy weaponry there following the launch of a military spy satellite last week, South Korea says.
The reported maneuvers come after South Korea said it would partially suspend a 2018 deal meant to ease front-line military confrontations in response to the launch of the Malligyong-1 satellite on Nov. 21, according to the Associated Press.
The 2018 agreement required the two Koreas to halt aerial surveillance and live-fire exercises at no-fly and buffer zones that they established along the DMZ, as well as remove some of their front-line guard posts and land mines. The deal left South Korea with 50 board guard posts and North Korea with 150.
After North Korea claimed to place its first military spy satellite into orbit, South Korea said it would partially suspend the deal and resume aerial surveillance along the DMZ. South Korea said its response was “a minimum defensive measure” because the launch showed the North’s intentions to strengthen its monitoring of the South and improve its missile technology.
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In this undated photo provided and released on Nov. 27 by the South Korea Defense Ministry, North Korean soldiers install their guard post in the Demilitarized Zone in North Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
But North Korea immediately slammed South Korea’s decision, saying it would deploy powerful weapons at the border in a tit-for-tat measure, the AP reported.
On Monday, South Korea’s military released images appearing to show North Korean soldiers building new guard posts, while the South Korean Defense Ministry declared it is ready to “promptly and strongly punish” any escalations from the North.
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South Korea says the new border guard posts in North Korea are being built in locations where ones used to have stood. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledged last Wednesday the apparent success of the Malligyong-1 satellite launch into orbit, though they stopped short of confirming it was operational.
“After a comprehensive analysis of its flight path and other signs, the satellite is assessed to have entered into orbit,” the South Korean joint chiefs of staff said.
South Korea charges that Russia is assisting North Korea with its spy satellites. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
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North Korean state media later claimed the satellite has provided leadership with images of key South Korean and U.S. bases,including the Pearl Harbor naval base and Hickam Air Base in Honolulu.
Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
