{"id":57274,"date":"2020-06-17T02:29:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T02:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/17\/north-koreas-military-to-reenter-inter-korea-cooperation-sites\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:57:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:57:01","slug":"north-koreas-military-to-reenter-inter-korea-cooperation-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/06\/17\/north-koreas-military-to-reenter-inter-korea-cooperation-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s military to reenter inter-Korea cooperation sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea said Wednesday it will redeploy troops to now-shuttered inter-Korean cooperation sites<\/a>, reinstall guard posts and resume military exercises at front-line areas, nullifying the landmark tension-reducing deals reached with South Korea just two years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement came a day after North Korea destroyed an inter-Korean liaison office<\/a> in a choreographed display of anger that puts pressure on Washington and Seoul amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy. The demolition was the most provocative act by North Korea since it entered nuclear talks in 2018, though the building in its border town of Kaesong was empty and the North had previously signaled plans to blow it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North\u2019s General Staff said military units will be deployed to the Diamond Mountain resort and the Kaesong industrial complex, both just north of the heavily fortified border. Those sites, once symbols of inter-Korean cooperation, have been shuttered for years due to inter-Korean disputes and the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea because of its nuclear program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North said it will resume military exercises and reestablish guard posts in border areas and and open front-line sites for flying propaganda balloons toward South Korea. It said it\u2019ll upgrade front-line military readiness to \u201ctop-class combat duty system,\u201d while citizens are ready to \u201claunch the largest ever leaflet scattering with a blitz.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows the explosion of an inter-Korean liaison office building in Kaesong, North Korea, Tuesday, June 16, 2020. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These steps would end September 2018 agreements <\/a>reached during inter-Korean diplomacy that were aimed at lowering military tensions at border areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under those agreements, both Koreas halted live-firing exercises, removed some land mines and destroyed guard posts inside the world\u2019s most heavily armed border. Some outside experts have said these moves undermined South Korea\u2019s security more as the North\u2019s nuclear weapons arsenal remain intact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s government didn\u2019t immediately respond to the North Korean military statement. Seoul\u2019s Defense Ministry had said Tuesday it would strongly deal with future provocation by North Korea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some outside analysts predicted North Korea would resort to provocation to wrest outside concessions because its economy has likely worsened under the persistent U.S.-led sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. North Korea may also be frustrated because the sanctions prevent Seoul from breaking away from Washington to resume joint economic projects with Pyongyang. <\/p>\n\n\n\t