[2024 National Audit] Announcement of Mutual Verification on GP Withdrawal by Moon Government Was Fabricated

Yoo Yong-won Office: "North Korea Refuses Cooperation Using Excuses"
"Despite Verification Failure, Moon Government Declares 'Disablement' in 5 Days"

Claims have been raised that the mutual verification of the pilot withdrawal of frontline guard posts (GPs) under the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement was manipulated. Although the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Moon Jae-in administration failed to confirm some North Korean GPs, the government announced that the North Korean GPs had been disabled just five days later.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to information received on the 8th from a GP verification team member to Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it had “confirmed the withdrawal of all weapons, equipment, and personnel, as well as the burial and destruction of underground facilities.” However, it was revealed that some areas were not actually confirmed.

Under the September 19, 2018 agreement, both Koreas agreed to withdraw from all GPs in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and announced a pilot withdrawal of 11 GPs each. On-site verification took place on December 12 of that year. At the time, the Joint Chiefs reported “inadequate verification,” but the Moon Jae-in government announced the “disabling of North Korean GPs” on the 17th, just five days later.

According to the information received by Representative Yoo, the South Korean verification team was unable to even approach an unidentified weapons emplacement area. The North Korean side also refused to guide them to underground facilities, ammunition depots (behind the GP), and observation posts (in front of the GP). North Korea claimed that underground facilities “do not exist” and refused to allow any verification. When the South Korean side pointed out that the underground facilities seemed to be disguised, the North Korean side deflected by calling them “springs” or “underground water tanks.” Some areas were blocked off with “minefield” signs installed without prior notice to prevent access. Amid ongoing audits into the allegations of inadequate verification of the disabling of North Korean GPs, the Ministry of National Defense is reported to have submitted documents containing these details to the Board of Audit and Inspection. The documents reportedly include statements that the South Korean verification team only heard North Korean claims such as “the entrance to the underground facility was blocked with soil” and returned without further inspection. Based on such materials, the verification team at the time expressed the opinion that “the verification was insufficient.”

Meanwhile, North Korea has been operating most of the GPs it withdrew following the September 19 agreement normally since November last year. In contrast, South Korean GPs are constructed as large reinforced concrete structures, making restoration difficult. The South Korean military is investing about 41 billion won this year to restore some GPs, but full restoration is expected to be possible only by 2033.

Representative Yoo stated, “The inadequate verification of GPs is no different from an act of betrayal that benefits the North Korean military and weakens our military’s combat capabilities in DMZ operations,” expressing concerns about a security vacuum.