(FreedomBeacon.com)- According to a South Korean official, following the North’s recent drone intrusion, South Korea would consider canceling a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement if the North Korean military continues to enter its airspace.
On December 26, North Korea deployed five drones across the demarcation line dividing the two Koreas, one of which momentarily crossed into a 3.7-kilometer (2.2-mile) wide no-fly zone over the South Korean presidential office.
On condition of anonymity, a South Korean military official told Yonhap News Agency that the aircraft “flew briefly inside the northern perimeter of the zone, but it did not come close to important security facilities.”
The drones were flown above South Korean cities for hours after the intrusion, despite South Korea’s deployment of fighter jets and the firing of around 100 rounds at them.
President Yoon Suk-yeol has reportedly asked that the military in South Korea build an “overwhelming response capability that goes beyond a proportionate response to North Korea’s provocations,” according to press secretary Kim Eun-Hye.
Yoon asked that by the end of the year, the Defense Ministry create a joint drone unit for surveillance operations, create stealth drones, and mass-produce small drones.
According to Kim, if North Korea continues to encroach on South Korea’s territory, the president reportedly told his aides to consider dissolving the inter-Korean military agreement.
If North Korea conducts another provocation that violates our sovereignty, President Yoon Suk-yeol directed the National Security Office to consider terminating the military pact from September 19, Kim told reporters on Wednesday.
To stop military hostilities between their countries, former South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed the agreement in 2018. Live-fire drills along the demarcation line might resume if the accord is terminated.
Regarding North Korea’s disdain for the 2018 inter-Korean military pact, the United States expressed worry, noting North Korea’s provocative drone and missile launches against its ally South Korea.
Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson, called North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to stop its reckless and escalating behavior. “We are concerned about the DPRK’s apparent disregard of the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement, and we call on it to end its irresponsible and escalatory behavior,” Price said (DPRK).
