North Korea broke the five-year agreement with South Korea. The document was supposed to reduce military tensions.
"From now on, our military will never be bound by the North-South Military Agreement of September 19," North Korea stated on November 23.
The country also promised to cancel all measures "taken to prevent military conflict in all spheres, including land, sea and air" and deploy "more powerful armed forces and new types of military equipment" in the border region.
The BBC writes that North Korea made its statement a few hours after launching a ballistic missile into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula — the first known launch of a weapon in two months. The South Korean military said that the missile most likely failed.
It all started with the fact that on November 21, North Korea announced that it had successfully launched a spy satellite into space. In theory, a spy satellite could allow Pyongyang to monitor the movement of American and South Korean troops and weapons on the Korean Peninsula, which would allow it to detect threats. It would also allow the North to plan its nuclear attacks with greater precision.
The launch of the satellite led South Korea to suspend the agreement, saying it would resume surveillance flights along the border. The North Korean launch is a violation of the no-fly zone established in 2018 as part of the Comprehensive Military Agreement, which was signed in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two countries and prevent conflict.
A US official said South Koreaʼs decision to suspend part of the agreement was a "reasonable" response, citing North Koreaʼs "failure to abide by the pact".
- Despite the sanctions, North Korea has been developing and creating nuclear weapons for years, and this year it began to simulate nuclear strikes on South Korea and openly display missiles capable of carrying nuclear charges.
- On September 28, 2023, North Korea enshrined its nuclear status in the Constitution. A text was added to the Constitution stating that the country is developing nuclear weapons in order to guarantee its right to exist and to "restrain war."