‘No more buffer zone based on 2018 military agreement,’ S. Korea says

The South Korean military made a statement on Monday that there is no more buffer zone that suspends hostilities on the ground and in the ocean based on the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement made in 2018. Prior to this, North Korea made a series of provocations by laying a large number of landmines along the Gyeongui ground line in the demilitarized zone, rearming front-line guard posts, and taking other actions that broke most clauses in the agreement. As the North fired multiple rounds of artillery shells in the buffer zone in the Yellow Sea for three consecutive days starting on Friday, the South Korean military decided to counter it with a bold decision. As a result, there is no more buffer zone on the ground or in the ocean between the two Koreas that were put in place by the September 19 agreement.

“North Korea violated the September 19 agreement over 3,600 times and fired artillery shells for three consecutive days in the Yellow Sea,” the spokesperson of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lee Sung-jun, said on Monday in a briefing. “As a result, we announce that there is no more buffer zone.” The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the South Korean military will resume normal shooting and training in the buffer zones on the ground and sea.

As the South Korean military announced the nullification of the September 19 agreement one month after North Korea made an announcement to renounce the agreement, training will be resumed in the buffer zones in the land, sea, and air. On the ground, targets will be set within five kilometers from the military demarcation line where hostilities were prohibited, and large-scale live fire training will take place, mobilizing K-9 self-propelled artillery. The naval maneuver is expected to begin in the Yellow Sea.


Hyo-Ju Son hjson@donga.com