South Korea partially suspends military agreement with North

O agreement, which created buffer zones along land and sea borders and no-fly zones to prevent accidental clashes, “has been partially suspended”, a Seoul government spokesperson confirmed to the France-Presse news agency.

“According to procedure, the Ministry of Defense must notify North Korea about this. But since the lines of communication with North Korea are cut, the Ministry of Defense will simply announce it,” he added.

The 2018 agreement, reached during a brief rapprochement between then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, suspended aerial surveillance activities and live-fire exercises throughout of the border.

North Korea assured today that it placed the first military spy satellite into orbit, after launching a space rocket detected by Seoul and Tokyo.

“The Chollima-1 space rocket flew normally along its predefined trajectory and accurately placed the ‘Malligyong-1’ satellite into orbit (…) 705 seconds after launch,” North Korean state news agency KCNA reported .

The alleged successful launch from Pyongyang, which has not yet been confirmed by the United States or South Korea, follows two failed attempts in May and August, reported the Spanish news agency Efe.

The event was supervised by Kim Jong-un, according to KCNA.

North Korea defended placing the satellite into orbit as part of its legitimate right to strengthen its defensive capabilities, and promised to launch more of these intelligence devices “in a short period of time.”

KCNA added that the launch “will make a significant contribution to definitively strengthening the war-fighting capabilities of North Korea’s armed forces.”

The South Korean army reported on Tuesday that it had detected “what North Korea claims is a military reconnaissance satellite” that was launched south of the Tongchang-ri area in the northwest of the country, where it is located. the Sohae launch base.

Seoul, Washington and Tokyo condemned the launch and stressed that it was a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

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