This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
South Korea has officially declared that the maritime buffer zone with North Korea no longer exists, setting a precondition for Seoul and Washington to conduct reconnaissance operations near the border in response to Pyongyang’s ongoing military provocations.
“North Korea has breached the September 19th military agreement over 3,000 times and has conducted artillery fire in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] over the last three days. As a result, the zone designated for the cessation of hostile actions effectively, no longer exists,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS, said Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Seoul, JCS spokesperson Lee Seong-Joon said that the ongoing provocations have essentially rendered the inter-Korean agreement inactive.
In 2018, the two Koreas agreed to halt what the other has defined as hostile actions toward one another near the border, including the maritime border, the Northern Limit Line, or NLL, but the North has conducted a number of provocations since then, violating the terms of the agreement.
In November, North Korea formally declared an immediate and complete withdrawal from the military agreement, pledging to deploy its latest weaponry along the border with South Korea. The move came as Seoul suspended a part of the agreement following the North’s satellite launch that violated the United Nations Security Council resolution.
With North Korea’s latest provocation in the maritime border, which has effectively nullified the inter-Korean agreement, South Korea, in collaboration with the United States, may resume immediate reconnaissance and surveillance activities near the border, as indicated by South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in November.
Seoul’s reaction on Monday comes as North Korea proceeded with military provocation off its western coast for three consecutive days since Friday.
According to a series of statements released by the South’s JCS, North Korea carried out over 90 rounds of artillery fire north of South Korea-ruled Yeonpyeong Island between 4 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. Sunday. None landed south of the NLL.
Separately, on Saturday, North Korea also fired approximately 60 coastal artillery shells off its western coast, the JCS said.
However, this statement countered claims from the North’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong Sunday, that Seoul had misinterpreted the event. She asserted that North Korea had only detonated explosives around 60 times to mimic the sound of its 130mm coastal artillery, rather than firing actual artillery shells.
The JCS released statements later calling North Korea’s actions as “comical,” asserting that these actions were intended to “undermine trust in the military and incite internal conflict in the South.” The JCS maintained that its military assets detected projections of North Korean artillery shells, in addition to setting off explosives.
Shelling toward islands
On Friday, North Korea launched some 200 artillery shells into waters off its western coast near South Korea’s Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands. Unlike the Saturday and Sunday developments, however, the artillery firing was directed in the southern direction, and Seoul conducted “naval fire” drills by its troops to reciprocate the provocation.
North Korea has been escalating military tensions recently in the Korean peninsula as it is also restoring its guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone. South Korea has reciprocated the moves by imposing unilateral sanctions and announcing its decision to dissolve its foundation designed for facilitating the inter-Korean economic complex.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has implemented a hardline policy towards Pyongyang, with his conservative administration openly vowing to proceed reciprocal responses to North Korea’s provocations.
Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Korea’s presidential office noted that Pyongyang’s provocation appears relatively controlled and restrained, as evidenced by the absence of artillery fire south of the NLL.
“They seem to be focusing on justifying their actions as a response to joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. There’s no need for an excessive response. I believe it’s sufficient to closely monitor their actions while continuing to emphasize the importance of dialogue.”
The U.S. and South Korean military forces began their first joint drills for this year on Thursday, involving the U.S. Air Force asset, Rivet Joint, a reconnaissance aircraft designed for intelligence collection.
Cheon also pointed out that North Korea’s actions seem to be an attempt to form a new diplomatic strategy, excluding South Korea. “They need an external threat, hence they label South Korea and the U.S. as adversaries, but at the same time, they are reaching out to Japan, as shown by the recent letter to Prime Minister Kishida. This shift warrants attention.”
According to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un addressed the Japanese leader, Fumio Kishida, as “Your Excellency,” expressing his “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the victims of Japan’s latest earthquake.
“There is a possibility that North Korea might try to reach out and potentially influence the U.S., not through South Korea, but through Japan,” said Cheon, suggesting that Pyongyang’s next move could lead to the potential for dialogue between North Korea and Japan.
