North Korea Vows to Restore ‘All Military Measures’ Halted Under 2018 Accord

People watch a television broadcast showing a file image of a North Korean rocket launch, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug. 24, 2023. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

North Korea announced it would restore “all military measures” halted under a 2018 inter-Korean deal after South Korea suspended a portion of the accord in response to the North’s spy satellite launch on Nov. 21.

In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Nov. 23, North Korea’s defense ministry said it would no longer “be bound” by the 2018 military accord with South Korea.

The ministry warned that South Korea “must pay dearly” for escalating military tensions on the Korean Peninsula to “an uncontrollable phase.”

“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,” it stated.

The military accord was signed by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018 to end hostilities between their nations.

Termination of the deal could result in the resumption of live-fire drills along the demarcation line separating the two Koreas.

South Korea Took ‘Minimal Defensive Measures’

South Korea suspended part of the accord that limits its reconnaissance and surveillance operations along the demarcation line after North Korea defied warnings against launching a spy satellite.

Defense chief Shin Won-sik has called the move “a corresponding response to North Korea’s provocation,” saying that South Korea had only taken “a minimal defensive measure.”

Mr. Shin argued that North Korea’s space rocket launch demonstrated that the regime “has no will to abide by the military agreement,” Yonhap News Agency reported.

“Therefore, the partial suspension of the agreement is an essential measure to protect people’s lives and safety,” he remarked.

The spy satellite, dubbed Malligyong-1, was launched into orbit on Nov. 21. Pyongyang said the space rocket launch was successful and received aerospace images of major U.S. military bases in Guam.

This marked North Korea’s third launch after two failed attempts on May 31 and Aug. 24.

Japan’s defense ministry said the projectile disintegrated into pieces, one of which landed in the Pacific Ocean about 746 miles southwest of Japan’s Okinotori Island.

Another part of the projectile fell into the East China Sea, around 217 miles off the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it assessed that North Korea’s spy satellite entered orbit but that more analysis and time are needed to determine whether the satellite is functioning properly.

A flag of North Korea waves in the wind on a post at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid, Spain, on March 27, 2019. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

G7 Condemns North Korea’s Space Launch

The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the High Representative of the European Union issued a joint statement on Nov. 22 saying they condemn “in the strongest terms” North Korea’s space launch.

They said the launch posed “a grave threat” to the region and beyond and violated the United Nations Security Council Resolutions prohibiting North Korea from launching any ballistic missile technology.

“North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the statement reads.

The G7 foreign ministers called for a “swift, united, and robust international response” to North Korea’s space launch and urged the regime to return to dialogue.

“We continue to call on North Korea to engage in meaningful diplomacy and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea without preconditions.”

US Calls for ‘Serious Negotiations’

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Nov. 21 that President Joe Biden and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with U.S. allies and partners.

The United States called on all countries to condemn North Korea’s illegal space launch and urged Pyongyang to return to “serious negotiations,” Ms. Watson said in a statement.

“The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement,” the spokesperson stated.

“The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and the defense of our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies,” she added.

North Korea has carried out a series of missile tests since 2022, with some involving nuclear-capable missiles that can strike the United States.