According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on January 8, Lee Sung-joon, director of the communiqué office of the South Korean Joint Staff Headquarters, said at a press conference on the 8th that North Korea violated the "919 Military Agreement" signed by the two Koreas in 2018 more than 3,600 times, and carried out shelling in the western waters for three consecutive days. As a result, the restricted zone for hostilities (buffer zone) will no longer exist, Lee said.
Earlier, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army had deleted the concepts of "nation" and "same ethnic group" in the report.
South Korean media: The North Korean side has been firing artillery shells for three consecutive days
According to South Korean media reports, from January 5 to 7, North Korean forces have been firing artillery shells near the northernmost northwest island in the western waters of South Korea for three consecutive days.
On the 5th, the DPRK fired more than 200 rounds of coastal artillery in the direction of the "Northern Limit Line" demarcated by the DPRK and the ROK north of Baeknyeong Island and Yeonpyeong Island. The area around Yeonpyeong Island and Bailing Island issued evacuation orders to local residents twice on the same day. Later that day, the ROK military used K9 self-propelled guns and tank guns to conduct naval firing training to counter the North Koreans.
On the 6th, according to information released by the ROK army, the Korean People's Army carried out more than 60 shells at the coastal artillery ports northwest of Yeonpyeong Island, and some of the shells fell in the maritime buffer zone north of the "Northern Limit Line" in the western sea. Since the artillery shells were aimed at the North Korean flanks and the northern interior that day, the South Korean military did not consider it a threat, so it did not carry out a live-fire exercise Xi countermeasures.
Kim Yo-jong denied that the shelling on the 6th was merely a detonating explosive
In response, Kim Yo-jong, vice minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, denied the alleged provocation of the shelling, saying that it was an explosive that detonated a simulated sound of an artillery shell. North Korea's Central Television coverage of Mr. Kim's conversation was interspersed with videos of North Korean troops detonating explosives. Kim Yo-jong also warned that even if the South Korean side made a small provocation, the North Korean army would immediately give it a "baptism of artillery."
The South Korean Joint Staff Headquarters said on the 7th that Kim Yo-jong's above statement is only a "low-level psychological warfare" against the South Korean military's detection capabilities, and if North Korea launches a provocation against South Korea's territory and national security, the South Korean army will resolutely respond to it in line with the principle of "immediate, strong, and countermeasures to the end."
On the 7th, the South Korean military issued another message, saying that the North Korean army fired nearly 90 artillery shells from 4 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. on the same day to the north of Yeonpyeong Island. Since the South Korean side did not suffer losses, the South Korean army did not conduct response shots. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the Korean People's Army's southwest coastal defense unit conducted live-fire training in four target areas in the southwest sea area on the same day. The training involved 23 coastal guns and fired 88 shells, and in terms of firing directions, "this live-fire zone had nothing to do with the military demarcation line and did not pose any threat to the hostile countries".
South Korean Army: There is no longer a buffer zone between South Korea and North Korea
On the 8th, the ROK military announced that there was no longer a buffer zone between the ROK and the DPRK. As a result, the ROK military will normally carry out activities such as shooting and training in the restricted areas of hostilities at sea and on land.
The South Korean side said that the DPRK violated the "919 military agreement" between the two Koreas more than 3,000 times and carried out shelling in the western waters for three consecutive days. As a result, there is no longer a buffer zone between the two Koreas.
Yonhap News Agency reported that according to the "919 Military Agreement", South Korea and North Korea have set up a maritime buffer zone along the "Northern Limit Line" in the western and eastern waters of the peninsula, prohibiting artillery bombardment and mobile training. At the same time, based on the military demarcation line, the ROK and the DPRK have designated areas 5 kilometers wide each as a buffer zone, prohibiting artillery shelling and field maneuver training of troops at and above the regimental level. The South Korean military said that the North Korean side fired artillery shells at the buffer zone near the "Northern Limit Line" in the western sea from the 5th to the 7th of this month, and the South Korean military decided to resume routine military exercises in the land-sea buffer zone.
According to the report, in response to a question about "whether the ROK military will conduct regular shooting training in the maritime buffer zone," Ri Chengjun replied that the ROK military will not respond to the DPRK's military actions in the vicinity of the northwest islands, but will carry out shooting training according to the original plan.
The two Koreas are at odds over the demarcation of the maritime boundary in the western part of the peninsula
The two Koreas have been at odds over the demarcation of the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. The ROK has drawn a maritime demarcation line between the two countries, called the "Northern Limit," between the "five islands in the West Sea," including Yeonpyeong Island, and the western coast of the DPRK, which the DPRK does not recognize. North Korea's maritime military demarcation line declared in 1999 is farther south than South Korea's so-called "northern limit," and South Korea does not recognize it.
The Korean People's Army issued a report: the concepts of "nation" and "homogeneity" were deleted
Since the beginning of 2024, the situation on the peninsula has suddenly become tense. In the report released by the General Staff of the Korean People's Army on the 5th, the concepts of "nation" and "same ethnic group" have been deleted. South Korean media believe that this statement by the North Korean military is consistent with the change in the "line toward South Korea" mentioned by Kim Jong-un at the beginning of the new year.
Kim Jong Un said that inter-Korean relations are no longer homogeneous and homogeneous, but completely fixed as hostile relations between two countries and two belligerents in a war.
Analysts believe that the "tough vs. tough" confrontation between the two Koreas may continue in 2024. If the two Koreas misinterpret or exaggerate each other's intentions, there is a real possibility that it will turn into a local war or a more serious situation.
(Yangcheng Evening News, Yangcheng Pai Comprehensive CCTV4, Reference News Network)
Edit: Cold
Source: Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng faction