South Korea halts military pact with North Korea.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula continues to escalate. Following the launch of a spy satellite by North Korea, South Korea has decided to partially suspend an agreement from 2018 aimed at building trust between the two nations in November. Now, it seems the entire agreement is set to be terminated.
To address the growing tensions between North and South Korea, the National Security Council has decided to temporarily suspend the 2018 pact that promotes trust-building measures. A proposal to do this will be presented to the cabinet on Tuesday.
The suspension of this agreement would reportedly allow South Korea to hold military exercises near the heavily-militarized border, which were previously limited by the accords. The idea of suspending the agreement was first floated after North Korea abandoned it in November, spurred by South Korea's partial suspension following the spy satellite launch.
In September 2018, both countries had agreed on a series of measures to prevent incidents at the border during a brief period of reconciliation. However, tensions have escalated since then.
South Korea had already suspended part of the agreement last month due to the satellite launch by North Korea. In response, North Korea declared that it would no longer abide by the entire agreement. The council's decision comes after a warning from the South regarding North Korea's use of balloons to send garbage across the border.
Additionally, South Korea's military claims that North Korea has been engaging in GPS jamming attacks for the past five days in the border region. North Korea has allegedly responded to these balloon actions by sending propaganda leaflets over the border. On Sunday, the North announced it would temporarily halt these actions in response to South Korea's newest accusations.
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- Despite ongoing discussions for conferences and agreements aimed at reducing tensions, the military situation between North and South Korea remains volatile, with Kim Jong Un's government launching a spy satellite and subsequently abandoning an agreement to build trust.
- The recent escalation of wars and conflicts on the Korean Peninsula has led South Korea to consider terminating the entire 2018 agreement with North Korea, following their partial suspension in response to the spy satellite launch.
- The proposed suspension of the military pact between South and North Korea could potentially enable Seoul to carry out military exercises near the heavily-militarized border, a move that was previously restricted by the agreement.
