Ministry of Unification: "North Korea's Military Deployment in Kaesong and Kumgangsan Violates Our Citizens' Property Rights"

Seoho Vice Minister of Unification Department "Expresses Strong Regret"

Seoho, Deputy Minister of Unification, is expressing his position on the demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office by North Korea at the government Seoul office joint briefing room on the afternoon of the 16th.

On the 17th, North Korea deployed military units to the Mount Kumgang tourism zone and the Kaesong Industrial Complex area, prompting the Ministry of Unification to express strong regret, calling it an infringement of property rights.

On the same day, Seo Ho, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Unification, stated in a press briefing at the Government Seoul Office, "We strongly regret North Korea's announcement by the spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army that the Mount Kumgang tourism zone and the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be militarized."

Vice Minister Seo said, "North Korea's announcement is an act that reverts inter-Korean relations to the past before the June 15th North-South Joint Declaration of 2000 and is a clear violation of our citizens' property rights. North Korea must bear appropriate responsibility for this and we urge them to stop any further measures that worsen the situation."

He added, "South and North Korea agreed in the September 2018 Pyongyang Joint Declaration to prioritize the normalization of Mount Kumgang tourism and the Kaesong Industrial Complex when conditions permit. Accordingly, our government has made multifaceted efforts to create conditions, such as restricting individual tourism and promoting visits by Kaesong Industrial Complex businesspeople to the North."

Meanwhile, North Korea announced on the same day that it would redeploy military units to the Mount Kumgang tourism zone, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, and guard posts (GPs) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and also revive military exercises in the West Sea.

The spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army issued a statement titled "Our military will thoroughly guarantee all domestic and foreign measures taken by the Party and the government militarily," as reported by the Korean Central News Agency.

In the statement titled "Our military will thoroughly guarantee all domestic and foreign measures taken by the Party and the government militarily," the spokesperson announced ▲ deployment of military units to the Mount Kumgang tourism zone and the Kaesong Industrial Complex ▲ redeployment of military personnel to guard posts (GPs) in the DMZ from which they had withdrawn ▲ resumption of military exercises in the West Sea ▲ and military support for the distribution of anti-South Korea leaflets.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.