• Wion
  • /World
  • /North Korea suspends military deal with South after spy satellite launch

North Korea suspends military deal with South after spy satellite launch

North Korea suspends military deal with South after spy satellite launch

North Korea

North Korea on Thursday (Nov 23) said that it was suspending a military accord that it had reached with South Korea, under which measures were agreed upon to ease military tensions between the two countries, news agency Yonhap reported.

"From now on, our army will never be bound by the September 19 North-South Military Agreement," the statement said.

"We will withdraw military measures taken to prevent military tensions and clashes in all areas such as land, sea and air, and will place strong armed forces and advanced military equipment in border areas," the nuclear-armed North's defence ministry said, according to the South's Yonhap news agency.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The ministry said it "will not be restrained" by the 2018 agreement any longer.

This move by Pyongyang comes after Seoul on Wednesday announced that it would resume its surveillance operations along the border and would also partially suspend the 2018 deal in retaliation to North's successful launch of a spy rocket satellite.

The Comprehensive Military Agreement was signed in Pyongyang on September 19, 2018, by Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Under the pact, both countries agreed to "completely cease all hostile acts against each other", by implementing military confidence-building measures in the air, land, and sea domains.

US condemns launch

The United States and its allies condemned the launch of the "Malligyong-1" spy satellite calling it a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions.

South Korea's military said that the satellite had entered orbit, further cautioning that it was too early to tell if it was functioning.

Pyongyang's defence ministry, on Thursday, reiterated that the satellite launch was part of its "right to self-defence", and disregarded the "extremely hysterical" response from the South in particular.

It condemned the South for placing the deal under strain through its "military provocations", stating that the agreement had "long been reduced to a mere scrap of paper".

The South "must pay dearly for their irresponsible and grave political and military provocations that have pushed the present situation to an uncontrollable phase," the ministry said.

(With inputs from agencies)