North Korea has begun restoring guard posts on its southern border after the two countries suspended a military agreement, according to the South Korean army. Pyongyang recently sent armed soldiers and equipment, an army official told AFP on Monday. A photo released by the army showed four North Korean soldiers setting up a wooden guard post in the demilitarized zone between the two countries.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing the army, that all eleven posts that were abolished as part of the agreement will be restored. Pyongyang had already announced that it wanted to deploy “stronger armed forces” and “new military equipment” on the border between the two Korean states.
South Korea announced last Wednesday that it would partially suspend a 2018 military agreement and resume surveillance measures along the border. This was preceded by the launch of the spy satellite “Malligyong-1”, which North Korea said it had successfully launched into space last week after two failed attempts to launch a satellite.
During a visit to the space control center in Pyongyang on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “great satisfaction” about the preparations for the satellite’s reconnaissance mission, which is scheduled to begin on December 1, according to the state news agency KCNA.
The launch of the satellite was strongly condemned, especially by the USA and South Korea. They fear a “destabilizing effect” for the region.