Agreements suspended: Tensions rise in Korea peninsula over 'Trash Balloons'

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol signed the motion shortly after it was approved at a Cabinet meeting, following the National Security Council's decision to suspend the Comprehensive Military Agreement in response to North Korea's ballooning and jamming of GPS signals in recent days.

“North Korea's continuous provocations not only greatly threaten the lives and security of our people but also seriously undermine peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said during the Cabinet meeting.

Han Duck-soo stated that the decision to suspend the agreement will remain in effect “until mutual trust between the South and the North is restored.” He added, “The suspension is legitimate under our laws, allows us to conduct military exercises restricted near the Military Demarcation Line under the September 19 military agreement, and enables us to take more adequate and immediate measures to counter North Korea's provocations.”

“We once again call on North Korea to immediately cease all provocations that threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and move forward on the path to shared prosperity between the South and the North,” Han Duck-soo added.

What Happened?

The full suspension of the agreement, often referred to as the “September 19th military agreement” after the day it was signed in 2018, will allow South Korea to resume military training near the border and restart loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts aimed at the North.

The government suspended part of the agreement in November in response to North Korea's successful launch of a military spy satellite.

Under the partial suspension, no-fly zones around the border were lifted to allow South Korea to resume reconnaissance and surveillance activities in the region.

North Korea has sent about 1,000 garbage-carrying balloons to the South since last Tuesday, calling it a “tit-for-tat” action against South Korean activists who sent propaganda leaflets to the North.

Pyongyang announced it would temporarily halt balloon operations after Seoul hinted it would resume loudspeaker broadcasts on Sunday.