Unification Ministry: "North Korea, Do Not Violate Property Rights"... Defense Ministry: "There Will Be Consequences for Military Actions" (Comprehensive)

Government Issues Strong Warning Over North Korea's Military Deployment in Kaesong and Geumgangsan

On the morning of the 17th, Jeon Dong-jin, Chief of Operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed deep concern during a briefing held at the Ministry of National Defense, stating, "Our military deeply regrets the announcement by the North Korean General Staff today that they intend to ratify various military action plans that directly contradict previous inter-Korean agreements, the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, and the September 19 Military Agreement."

The government expressed strong regret and issued a stern warning that North Korea would pay a price if military actions were taken, in response to North Korea's announcement on the 17th that it would deploy military units to the Mount Kumgang tourism zone and the Kaesong Industrial Complex area, calling it an infringement on the property rights of our citizens.

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

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

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

Seoho, Vice Minister of Unification, is announcing the Ministry of Unification's position at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office Building on the 17th.

The Ministry of National Defense also issued a strong warning regarding North Korea's announcement.

On the 17th, Jeon Dong-jin, Director of Operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held an emergency briefing at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, stating, "Our military expresses deep concern over North Korea's General Staff announcement today that it will ratify various military action plans that directly contradict past inter-Korean agreements, including the 2018 'April 27 Panmunjom Declaration' and the 'September 19 Military Agreement.'"

He continued, "These measures nullify the efforts and achievements made over the past 20 years by both Koreas to develop inter-Korean relations and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. Should these actions be carried out, North Korea will inevitably pay the price."

Director Jeon added, "Our military is closely monitoring North Korean military movements 24 hours a day in relation to the current security situation, maintaining a firm military readiness posture, and will continue efforts to prevent military crises through stable situation management."

With North Korea officially declaring the redeployment of military units to the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang tourism zone, a full-scale redeployment of units and equipment is expected. Since Kaesong and Mount Kumgang were key military strategic points on the western and eastern fronts respectively, the redeployed North Korean units and equipment will significantly impact the South Korean military's response.

As North Korea's provocative situation escalates rapidly, the military has decided to more than double surveillance and reconnaissance. Our forces plan to simultaneously utilize reconnaissance aircraft such as Kumgang and Baekdu (RC-800) and Saemae (RF-16). The RF-16, nicknamed 'Saemae,' flies over areas near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the Northern Limit Line (NLL) to collect video intelligence related to North Korean forces. Normally, the Saemae reconnaissance aircraft flies once a day, but after the liaison office was blown up on the 16th, emergency standby units were deployed to increase flights to twice daily. However, since video analysis takes a long time, plans are in place to increase the flight frequency of the Kumgang and Baekdu (RC-800) reconnaissance aircraft as well. The Baekdu reconnaissance aircraft, upgraded in 2017, can detect North Korea's electronic intelligence (Elint) and communications intelligence (Comint), capturing radar operations and wired and wireless communications.

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 resume 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 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 government militarily," the spokesperson announced ▲ deployment of military units to the Mount Kumgang tourism zone and Kaesong Industrial Complex ▲ redeployment of troops to guard posts (GPs) withdrawn from the DMZ ▲ 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.