North Korean soldiers are seen at a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense)
SUWON, South Korea — Seoul is considering how it will respond now that North Korean troops have returned to border guard posts after Pyongyang scrapped a peace deal in place for the past five years.
Senior military officials met Tuesday to ensure the country is ready with countermeasures, spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said during a news briefing at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Seoul.
“We will implement the necessary measures in order to be fully prepared for the protection of our people,” he said.
Seoul and Washington are reviewing “corresponding countermeasures” to respond to Pyongyang, South Korean army Col. Lee Sung-jun of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the reporters.
Neither Jeon nor Lee elaborated on what that response could entail. Asked by a reporter whether South Korea would deploy armed troops at the border, Jeon referred the question to U.N. Command, which is responsible for the South’s security in the Demilitarized Zone.
North Korean soldiers are seen at a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense)
The command did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday.
North Korean troops have occupied 11 guard posts on its side of the DMZ since Friday, the Defense Ministry said in a news release Monday. The ministry also said it observed temporary guard posts and artillery fortifications being built on the western coast.
“Our troops have been keeping a close eye on North Korea’s provocative acts and maintaining a full readiness posture so that they can punish any [North Korean] provocation immediately and strongly,” the release said.
Eleven guard posts on both sides of the border were withdrawn from or demolished after the Comprehensive Military Agreement was signed in 2018. The accord, inked by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-President Moon Jae-in, aimed to prevent border clashes with several measures, including no-fly zones.
Seoul partially suspended the agreement on Nov. 22, a day after Pyongyang successfully placed a military spy satellite into orbit.
North Korean soldiers with weapons are seen in a trench inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense)
In multiple reports after the launch, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the satellite took photos of “major target regions,” including Pyeongtaek city, home of Camp Humphreys; the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docked in Busan, South Korea; and the White House.
In response, South Korea, which had warned the North against following through with the launch, announced it would resume reconnaissance flights banned under the peace agreement.
That decision prompted Pyongyang to scrap the accord entirely Thursday; KCNA reported the regime was no longer bound to the agreement and that it would deploy armed troops and a “new-type of military hardware” at the border.
The United States and South Korea are still analyzing the North’s satellite and have yet to conclude whether it has any “military significance,” Jeon said at Tuesday’s briefing.
Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report.
