Pyongyang suspends plans for military action against Seoul

SEOUL－The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has decided to suspend military action plans against the Republic of Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday, as multiple local media outlets reported DPRK troops were removing loudspeakers recently reinstalled at the fortified border.

Political tensions between the two neighbors had been rising over Pyongyang's objections to plans by defector-led groups in the ROK to send propaganda leaflets into the DPRK.

Stalled negotiations regarding economic sanctions imposed because of the DPRK's nuclear program had also fueled tensions.

It was not immediately clear why Pyongyang had softened its position, which came after it blew up a liaison office last week and cut off communication hotlines with Seoul.

The DPRK's top leader Kim Jongun presided over a video conference meeting of the ruling party's Central Military Commission on Tuesday, where members "took stock of the prevailing situation" before deciding to suspend the military plans, the KCNA reported, without elaborating.

The committee also discussed documents outlining measures for "further bolstering the war deterrent of the country", the news agency said.

The DPRK military was seen removing about 10 loudspeakers near the Demilitarized Zone on Wednesday, just days after they were seen reinstalling around 20 of the devices, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unnamed military sources.

40 loudspeakers removed

The two neighbors removed about 40 propaganda loudspeakers from frontline areas after ROK President Moon Jae-in and Kim agreed to cease "all hostile acts" during their first summit in April 2018 at the border village of Panmunjom.

A spokesman for the ROK Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the DPRK, said it is monitoring the situation and had no change in its stance that inter-Korean agreements should be kept.

The ministry also confirmed reports that a number of DPRK official websites had removed some articles critical of the ROK, though the spokesman said it was unclear why.

Pyongyang's decision to suspend the unspecified military actions may represent a reprieve from weeks of increasingly provocative moves.

The apparently conciliatory moves by Pyongyang are seen unusual by some analysts.

Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, warned last week of retaliatory measures against Seoul that could involve the military, without elaborating.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said that having someone else speak for Pyongyang "gives Kim Jong-un the option of adjusting course".

The General Staff of the Korean People's Army, or KPA, later said it had been studying an "action plan" that included sending troops into joint tourism and economic zones, reoccupying border guard posts that had been abandoned under the 2018 pact, taking steps to "turn the front line into a fortress", and supporting plans for Pyongyang to send its own propaganda leaflets into the ROK.

Agencies - Xinhua