South Korea officially decides to completely suspend the military pact with North Korea

The South Korean government has officially decided to completely suspend a military agreement aimed at easing tensions with North Korea. The pact was signed by the previous South Korean government in 2018.

At Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the government decided to suspend the pact until mutual trust is restored. President Yoon Suk-yeol later approved the decision.

The move follows recent provocations by North Korea. The North has been sending giant balloons filled with garbage and excrement to the South since late last month and has attempted to jam GPS signals in the Yellow Sea off the western coast of the Korean peninsula.

Sources in the South Korean Defense Ministry say they plan to resume military exercises near the demarcation line between the two Koreas and on the surrounding islands.

They also declare that, depending on the situation, they are ready to resume their propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers towards the north at any time.

North Korea has not responded since South Korea confirmed its intention to suspend the pact on Monday, but Seoul’s official decision is likely to be followed by further provocations from the North.

A group of North Korean defectors in South Korea say they plan to fly balloons into the North carrying leaflets containing critical comments about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Sources in South Korea’s Unification Ministry say the ministry will not call for restraint on the issue.