Military Agreement That Has Become Virtually Meaningless

The Ministry of National Defense publicly revealed for the first time on the 13th the Goseong GP in Gangwon Province, which was decided to be preserved in its original form due to its historical value among the pilot withdrawal guard posts (GPs) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) under the 'September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement.' After the coverage ended, the gate of Goseong GP was locked again.

Located at the northeasternmost point of the Republic of Korea, Goseong GP was the first to be established immediately after the signing of the Armistice Agreement in 1953. It was only 580 meters away from the North Korean GP, making it the closest point of confrontation between the South and North. Currently, equipment and troops have been withdrawn from this site, and the DMZ boundary mission officially ended on November 7 of last year. / Goseong = Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporters Yang Nak-gyu and Kim Dong-pyo] As North Korea continues its provocations, there are growing concerns that the 'September 19 Military Agreement' has effectively become meaningless. Although the North Korean military fired shots toward our military's frontline Guard Post (GP) on the 3rd, there was no protest from our side regarding the violation of the September 19 Military Agreement, nor any explanation from North Korea, turning the agreement into a 'promise that neither side feels obliged to keep.'

North Korea has followed a pattern of 'disappearance → public appearance → provocation.' Chairman Kim disappeared for 13 days in July 2017 before test-firing the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). After the September 19 Military Agreement, in October last year, Kim did not appear in public for over two weeks before directly ordering coastal artillery fire from the Changrindo defense unit in the western front of the inter-Korean border in November. This recent shooting incident also occurred after North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un appeared publicly following a 20-day absence. This is why there are forecasts that North Korea may continue its provocations.

Instead of explaining the recent shooting, North Korea continues to criticize South Korea. On the 4th, the external propaganda outlet Meori stated, "(South Korea) has allocated the largest-ever defense budget, continues to import advanced military equipment such as the U.S. stealth fighter 'F-35A' and high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft 'Global Hawk,' and recently conducted joint air exercises with the U.S. and combined amphibious landing drills with the Marine Corps," blaming South Korea entirely for the deadlock in inter-Korean relations.

On the other hand, our military's stance has been passive. North Korea launched short-range projectiles consecutively in February. Although this violated UN Security Council resolutions, North Korea claimed it was 'merely internal training.' Our government did not take strong countermeasures. Ultimately, even violations of the September 19 Military Agreement have been swept under the rug without sanctions or explanations from the North.

Shin Won-sik, a former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman and a member-elect of the National Assembly, said, "The inter-Korean military agreement became substantively unreasonable when North Korea fired coastal artillery at Changrindo last year, and structurally unreasonable with this GP shooting incident."

Meanwhile, the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission is reportedly dispatching a special investigation team to the South Korean GP in the Demilitarized Zone hit by North Korean bullets on the 4th. The UN Command is expected to visit the GP to investigate the circumstances at the time of the bullet impact from the North, the South Korean military's return fire, and to conclude whether there was a violation of the armistice agreement.