JCS Chairman at Emergency Meeting: "Maintain Thorough Readiness to Prevent North Korea Misjudgment"

Joint Chiefs Commander also coordinates via call... Maintaining Alert Level 2

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo instructed key military commanders on the 4th, after the emergency martial law was lifted, to "maintain thorough readiness so that North Korea does not miscalculate."

Yonhap News

Kim, the highest-ranking active-duty military officer, held an emergency operational commanders' meeting via video conference that morning, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Kim emphasized, "Maintain operational discipline and focus on surveillance and guard operations against North Korea, prioritizing the protection of the people's safety, which is the military's fundamental mission." He also ordered that, for the time being, any troop movements other than readiness tasks such as surveillance and guard operations against North Korea be conducted under JCS control. The JCS explained that this is to restore the peacetime operational command system following the lifting of martial law and to minimize public anxiety caused by troop movements. The Level 2 alert status, issued after the declaration of martial law, remains in effect.

It is also reported that Kim held a coordination call with General Paul LaCamera, Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, regarding the current situation that morning. Kim reportedly emphasized to the Combined Forces Commander that "the JCS is conducting operations normally and maintaining full readiness to respond to any North Korean provocations."