South Korea will withdraw from part of the inter-Korean treaty with North Korea. International news agencies reported this on Wednesday. The decision comes after the North Korean government claimed on Tuesday evening to have successfully launched a military spy satellite, against a United Nations ban. North Korea tried to launch a reconnaissance satellite twice earlier this year, but was reportedly unsuccessful. It has not yet been independently confirmed that the attempt would be successful this time.
South Korean Vice Minister of Defense Heo Tae-keun reportedly spoke on television about “a serious provocation that threatens our national security.” The part of the 2018 inter-Korean treaty that is being suspended concerns aerial surveillance of the border between the two countries. South Korea will resume that surveillance. The deal, struck in 2018 during a short-lived period of rapprochement between the countries, guaranteed no-fly and buffer zones in the border area and put an end to target practice and aerial reconnaissance. Some guard posts and landmines were also removed.
Tensions
Tensions between the two countries have been rising again since then. North Korea regularly conducts missile tests, while South Korea holds military exercises with allies Japan and the United States. These countries fear North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The launch of satellites is seen as a cover for testing long-range missile technology. North Korea referred to South Korea’s defense exercises in launching the satellite, which would improve the country’s war preparedness in view of “the enemy’s dangerous military moves.” South Korea has said whether the remainder of the treaty will be upheld would depend on further actions by North Korea.
Also read
Another North Korean missile launch: ‘These are real tests’
North Korea also reportedly successfully launched reconnaissance satellites in 2012 and 2016, but experts say they never sent images. Some experts also question the quality of the current satellite, which might only be able to detect large targets such as aircraft. But by deploying several such satellites, North Korea could still collect useful data. The country has already indicated that it intends to do so.
At a party congress in 2021, dictator Kim Jong Un listed developing a military spy satellite as one of the priorities for the North Korean armed forces, in addition to acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine and an intercontinental missile that flies on solid fuel. Pyongyang has now successfully tested the latter weapon.