(LEAD) S. Korean troops allowed to carry guns in truce village of Panmunjom: UNC

▲ South Korean soldiers stand guard in the Joint Security Area at the truce village of Panmunjom on March 3, 2023. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) truce village-rearmament

(LEAD) S. Korean troops allowed to carry guns in truce village of Panmunjom: UNC

(ATTN: UPDATES with ministry spokesperson's remarks in paras 9-10)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean troops in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom have been allowed to carry guns in response to North Korea's redeploying of weapons in the Joint Security Area (JSA), the United Nations Command (UNC) said.

The two Koreas had agreed to pull back firearms in the JSA in accordance with a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, but North Korean military personnel in the area have begun carrying guns since late November after it vowed to restore all military measures halted under the accord.

The move came after South Korea partially suspended the military tension reduction deal and resumed aerial surveillance near the border in protest of Pyongyang's Nov. 21 spy satellite launch.

"Given the KPA's current armed security posture, the UNC has authorized trained and qualified members of the guard forces on the UNC side of the JSA to re-arm to protect both civilian and military personnel," UNC spokesperson Col. Isaac Taylor told Yonhap News Agency over the phone, referring to the Korean People's Army (KPA), the North Korean Army's official name.

"This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution, but UNC has also informed the ROK government and KPA of its position that a disarmed JSA is safer and more peaceful for the Korean Peninsula and that this can be achieved by reimplementing the previous UNC-KPA agreements," Taylor added.

ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.

Despite the recent decision, the UNC said it remains committed to its role of overseeing the Korean War armistice agreement.

"The United Nations Command has reassured Korean People's Army counterparts that it intends for the JSA to remain a place for dialogue and armistice agreement implementation," Taylor said.

The defense ministry said South Korean personnel in the JSA have been carrying arms since early December as part of countermeasures against the North's rearmament in the area.

"The UNC has taken the action to protect civilians and military personnel," ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said in a regular press briefing.

South Korea has bolstered military readiness after North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday, the fifth ICBM test this year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the missile launch was conducted to "take a powerful warning measure under the grave situation" and ordered the military to "take more offensive actions" against threats by enemies, according to the North's state media.

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