North Korean soldiers at Panmunjom return with guns

Yonhap news agency on November 28 quoted a source as saying that North Korean soldiers at the JSA, also known as Panmunjom, have been seen carrying handguns since last weekend. This is the latest in a series of actions by North Korea to nullify the comprehensive military agreement with South Korea in 2018.

File photo taken at Panmunjom, in which North Korean soldiers take photos of South Korean soldiers

According to the agreement signed by the leaders of the two countries during the period of de-escalation, the two armies will withdraw weapons and set up guard posts at the JSA.

South Korea suspended part of the agreement in response to North Korea’s spy satellite launch last week. North Korea later announced it would no longer abide by the agreement and would restore all military measures suspended since 2018.

South Korean soldiers at the JSA remain unarmed. The United Nations Command, which oversees security at Panmunjom, did not immediately comment.

Earlier, the South Korean Ministry of Defense released images showing that North Korea also set up temporary guard posts in the DMZ.

South Korea's deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo said on November 27 that the country's military plans to restore guard posts along the inter-Korean border in response to Pyongyang's moves.

In another development, the South Korean military announced on November 28 that it had postponed the launch of its first military spy satellite due to bad weather.

The launch was originally scheduled for November 30 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, but was postponed to December 2. The satellite will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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