(LEAD) S. Korea says it will resume reconnaissance activities around inter-Korean border in wake of N.K. satellite launch

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) presides over a National Security Council meeting from a hotel in London during his state visit to Britain on Nov. 21, 2023, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-NK satellite

(LEAD) S. Korea says it will resume reconnaissance activities around inter-Korean border in wake of N.K. satellite launch

(ATTN: UPDATES with details of NSC statement, President Yoon's remarks; CHANGES headline, photo)

By Lee Haye-ah

LONDON, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Tuesday it will resume reconnaissance and surveillance activities around the inter-Korean border as it takes steps to suspend part of a 2018 military tension reduction deal in response to North Korea's latest launch of a military spy satellite.

The presidential National Security Council (NSC) issued the statement after North Korea claimed success in its third attempt to place a spy satellite into orbit.

The launch took place late Tuesday (local time) from a launch site in Tongchang-ri on North Korea's northwest coast.

"The government will take steps to suspend the effectiveness of Article 1, Clause 3 of the 'Sept. 19 Military Agreement' and restore reconnaissance and surveillance operations against North Korea in the area around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that were carried out in the past," the NSC said, referring to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the Korean Peninsula.

"Such action will greatly strengthen our military's ability to identify North Korean threat targets and its response posture," it said.

The NSC argued it was taking a legitimate step to defend South Korea's security amid North Korea's repeated violations of the 2018 agreement, nuclear and missile threats, and various provocations.

The fate of the rest of the agreement will depend on North Korea's future actions, it added.

The Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed on Sept. 19, 2018, under the previous liberal administration of President Moon Jae-in, calls for halting all hostile military activity between the Koreas, setting up maritime buffer zones and turning the DMZ into a peace zone, among other things.

Article 1, Clause 3 -- the section possibly subject to suspension -- outlines no-fly zones that were established around the MDL in November 2018.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol led an NSC meeting from London where he is currently on a four-day state visit and was briefed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the details of the launch, according to his office.

Yoon said that regardless of its success or failure, North Korea's launch was aimed at strengthening its reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities against South Korea and enhancing its intercontinental ballistic missile performance.

He instructed the government to take response measures in accordance with the law and to accurately explain to the people and the international community that such measures are the minimum defensive steps needed to protect the country.

He also called for thorough preparations against additional provocations by North Korea and maintaining a firm South Korea-United States combined defense posture as well as close trilateral coordination among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

The NSC "strongly denounced" the launch as a direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

"We also make clear that we are always open to dialogue between the authorities of the South and North to discuss the reduction of tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the NSC said. "The Yoon Suk Yeol government will respond sternly to any provocation by North Korea, while putting top priority on the people's safety through a strong security posture."

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