North Korea scraps 2018 military agreement with South Korea

By Anadolu staff

North Korea announced Thursday that it is abandoning a 2018 inter-Korean agreement to reduce tensions and restoring all military activities halted under the deal.

In a statement, its defense ministry said the decision was taken after South Korea suspended parts of the agreement on Wednesday.

"From now on, our army will never be bound by the September 19 North-South Military Agreement," said the statement, published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

On Wednesday, in its third attempt this year, North Korea successfully launched a surveillance satellite into space.

Following the satellite launch, Seoul said it had "partially" suspended the 2018 inter-Korean agreement.

The government of President Yoon Suk Yeol allowed the South Korean military to restore its surveillance activities around the inter-Korean border.

The 2018 agreement created buffer zones along land and sea boundaries and no-fly zones above the border.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid