JCS chairman calls for military readiness against N. Korea

▲ Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Kim Myung-soo speaks during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in this file photo taken Nov. 15, 2023. (Yonhap)

JCS chairman-border inspection

JCS chairman calls for military readiness against N. Korea

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Kim Myung-soo called Thursday for robust military readiness against North Korean provocation as he visited guard posts on the eastern front of the heavily fortified border, his office said.

In his first inspection since taking office Saturday, Kim visited front-line units in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas as Pyongyang has recently forward-deployed forces and weapons to the border region following the suspension of a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement.

Kim urged the troops to closely monitor North Korea's movements to counter any possible manipulative or surprise attacks and retaliate in an "immediate and decisive" manner if provoked.

North Korea has been reinstalling guard posts and placing heavy arms in the DMZ after it vowed to restore all military measures halted under the 2018 agreement.

The latest move came after South Korea partially suspended the deal to resume surveillance near the border in protest of the North's Nov. 21 spy satellite launch.

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