North Korean soldiers at the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (Photo: Reuters).
According to photos released by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense on November 27, North Korean soldiers at a guard post in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the inter-Korean border carried guns and stood guard at night inside the DMZ.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it is closely monitoring North Korea's activities to take necessary steps.
"South Korean and US intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring North Korea's activities and considering corresponding measures," JCS spokesman Colonel Lee Sung-jun said at a press briefing.
The arming of the JSA troops is the latest in a series of moves by North Korea after it declared a military de-escalation agreement with South Korea null and void. In addition, North Korea has restored guard posts and deployed heavy weapons along the border with South Korea.
South and North Korea agreed to withdraw weapons from the JSA under a previous military agreement, but North Korean soldiers in the area began carrying guns late last week. Meanwhile, South Korean forces are said to remain unarmed.
North Korea said on November 23 it would resume all military measures suspended under the 2018 agreement, in response to Seoul's partial suspension of the accord after Pyongyang launched a spy satellite.
The North-South pact, signed at a 2018 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in, included a no-fly zone and a ban on live-fire military exercises near the border.
In addition, South Korea and North Korea each destroyed 10 of the 11 guard posts in the DMZ to reduce tensions and prevent accidental clashes, leaving only one post of historical or other value.
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