Seoul to scrap deal as balloon excursions raise tensions.
South Korea is expected to suspend a 2018 military agreement with its northern neighbor following a North Korean campaign that saw balloons carrying trash sent across the border.
South Korea’s National Security Council said on Monday it would present a plan to fully suspend the deal for approval to the cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday. The main military agreement was partially frozen last year.
The council stated that continued compliance with the agreement would present “considerable problems in the readiness posture of our military.” Suspending the agreement would allow the country to conduct training near the military border and take unspecified “immediate measures” if necessary, he added.
The agreement, the most important accord resulting from months of historic meetings between the two Koreas during a thaw in relations during Moon Jae-in’s presidency in the South, was partially suspended by Seoul last year after North Korea placed a spy satellite in orbit.
Pyongyang announced, after the suspension by the South, that it would no longer comply with the agreement.
Small talk
The full suspension of the agreement comes at a time when relations are deteriorating further, amid a series of tit-for-tat balloon “attacks” across the heavily fortified border.
Since last week, North Korea has sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and animal feces – labeled as “sincere gifts” – to its southern neighbor.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who has emerged as a key spokeswoman for Pyongyang, mocked South Korea for complaining about the balloons this week. The North Koreans were simply exercising their freedom of speech, she declared.
However, Pyongyang said on Sunday it would stop sending balloons filled with trash as they have proven to be an effective countermeasure against South Korean propaganda.
The North said the campaign was a response to balloons sent by South activists loaded with anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and sometimes money, food or USB drives loaded with South Korean dramas or popular music.
After a National Security Council meeting on Sunday, a presidential official said Seoul would not rule out the possibility of responding to the trash balloons by resuming previous propaganda campaigns on loudspeakers along the border targeting Kim Jong Un.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
