South Korea's Defense Ministry Denies Allegations of Provoking North Korea's Actions
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Seoul, January 13 (NationPress) - The South Korean defense ministry on Monday dismissed accusations that its halt of an inter-Korean military agreement and the revival of anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts were designed to instigate North Korea's provocations leading up to the martial law that was imposed on December 3. This statement follows concerns raised by the opposition party and certain media outlets suggesting that the military acted "intentionally" to elicit provocations from North Korea in relation to President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief martial law implementation, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
In a statement, the ministry asserted, "Our military has consistently deterred North Korean provocations through a steadfast policy towards North Korea while ensuring strong military readiness." It added, "However, some individuals are connecting routine military actions and measures with the martial law situation, which generates security apprehensions and undermines our military operations," urging against such speculative claims and affirming their commitment to collaborating closely with the investigation into the martial law.
Furthermore, the ministry reiterated that the military had not contemplated artillery strikes in response to North Korea's launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border last year. The military "patiently" retrieved the fallen balloons without resorting to any fire, emphasizing that the suspicions regarding potential artillery strikes are "not true," according to the ministry.
In a similar vein, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) previously refuted claims that it had dispatched anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea to incite military provocations during the tenure of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is currently indicted as a principal figure behind Yoon's unsuccessful martial law enactment.
The JCS also rejected allegations of attempting to hide evidence after purportedly deploying drones over Pyongyang in October. The military has upheld its position of not validating the alleged drone infiltration, citing operational security as the reason.
In June, the presidential National Security Council resolved to fully suspend the 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction agreement until mutual trust can be restored, responding to North Korea's significant sending of trash-carrying balloons across the border.
Consequently, the military resumed anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts, marking the first such broadcasts near the heavily fortified border since January 2016.
According to the ministry, North Korea has breached the tension reduction pact over 4,000 times since unilaterally suspending the agreement in December 2023.
