North Korea has warned it will deploy new weapons and stronger armed forces along its heavily armed border with South Korea, as officials in Seoul claimed that Russia had helped Pyongyang carry out a satellite launch.
In a sign of rising tensions on the peninsula, North Korea said on Tuesday it would restore “all military measures” it had halted under a 2018 confidence-building agreement with South Korea.
South Korea had already said it would suspend some of the measures, which are designed to reduce the possibility of an accidental conflict along the demilitarised zone (DMZ), after North Korea launched a satellite – apparently successfully – for the first time late on Tuesday. Seoul added that it would step up surveillance along the DMZ.
A statement from North Korea’s defence ministry, according to the state-run KCNA news agency, said: “From now on, our army will never be bound by the September 19 North-South military agreement.
“We will withdraw the military steps, taken to prevent military tension and conflict in all spheres including ground, sea and air, and deploy more powerful armed forces and new-type military hardware in the region along the military demarcation line” – a reference to the border that has separated the countries since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war.
North Korea will claim it has taken a significant step forward in its space programme after the Malligyong-1 spy satellite appeared to have entered orbit, after two failed launches in May and August.
Officials in South Korea said they believed the satellite had entered orbit, but added it was too early to say if it was operating normally. North Korean state media claimed its leader, Kim Jong-un, had viewed images of US bases on the Pacific island of Guam provided by the satellite.
South Korean MPs said the launch was probably made possible with Russian help, weeks after Kim discussed his regime’s space ambitions with Vladimir Putin.
Yoo Sang-bum, a South Korean lawmaker who had been briefed by the national intelligence service, said Pyongyang had been given feedback by Russia after the leaders met in September.
At a briefing, Yoo said: “After the summit with Putin, the north provided Moscow with the blueprint and data relevant to the first and second satellite launches. Russia in turn analysed those data and provided the north with feedback.”
South Korean intelligence officials, who have examined debris from rockets used in the earlier failed launches, said it was unlikely that the satellite was already functioning.
Yoo said: “Given it usually takes three years for satellite development, the current claims do not guarantee the north’s satellite capability – unless Pyongyang actually makes public those Guam base photos it mentioned.”
After closer collaboration between Pyongyang and Moscow, North Korea has provided Russia with large quantities of ammunition for its war in Ukraine, although both leaders have denied striking an arms deal.
Experts said the scrapping of the comprehensive military agreement between the two Koreas could increase the risk of a confrontation along the border.
“Accidental clashes can escalate into full-blown conflict, including nuclear strikes,” said Moon Chung-in, a professor at Yonsei University who served as a special adviser to the former South Korean president Moon Jae-in when he negotiated the agreement with Kim five years ago.
The agreement committed both countries to ending military drills near the border and banned live-fire exercises in certain areas. It also included the imposition of no-fly zones, the removal of some guard posts along the border, and the use of hotlines.
Moon Chung-in said: “We have every reason to try to reduce risk and tension and instead the south is going in the opposite direction.”
Successfully putting a spy satellite into orbit would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and provide crucial data in any military conflict, according to experts.
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
