S. Korea Resumes All Military Activities in Border Area following Suspension of 2018 Inter-Korean Pact

Seoul, South Korea will resume all military activities near the Military Demarcation Line and its northwestern border islands with the full suspension of a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction pact. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol signed off on the motion shortly after it was approved during a Cabinet meeting held a day after the presidential National Security Council decided to suspend the Comprehensive Military Agreement in response to the North's balloon campaign and jamming of GPS signals in recent days, the South Korean defense ministry said Tuesday, according to South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap). "This measure is restoring to normality all military activities by our military, which had been restricted by" the 2018 pact, the defense ministry said, vowing to take "all possible measures" to protect the lives and safety of the South Korean people. "All responsibility for causing this situation lies with the North Korean regime and if the North attempts to stage additional provocation, our military w ill sternly retaliate based on a firm S. Korea-US combined defense posture," the ministry said. In turn, Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun said various measures could be taken after the suspension, noting that the military has operated both fixed and mobile loudspeakers on the front lines. The 2018 deal included setting up buffer zones around the border to suspend large-scale military drills, as well as banning "hostile" acts between the two Koreas, which restricted the loudspeaker broadcasts. Source: Qatar News Agency