Kim Jong-un Orders Immediate Suspension of Military Actions... Loudspeakers Removed and Offensive Articles Deleted

Presided by the Party Central Military Commission, Sudden Suspension of Military Action Plan Against South Korea
Loudspeakers Removed After Three Days... Articles Criticizing South Korea Also Deleted

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, has abruptly suspended the military action plan against South Korea announced by the North Korean General Staff. The North Korean military began dismantling the loudspeakers aimed at South Korea, which had been reinstalled after two years, just three days after their installation. Additionally, North Korean external propaganda outlets have been confirmed to be simultaneously deleting articles condemning the distribution of leaflets against the North. The inter-Korean relations, which had been on the brink of a military clash, have entered a phase of de-escalation for the time being.

On the 24th, North Korea’s state-run media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported that Chairman Kim presided over a preliminary meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea the previous day and suspended the military action plan against the South. The agency stated, "At the preliminary meeting, the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea assessed the recent situation and suspended the military action plans against the South proposed by the General Staff of the Korean People's Army at the 7th Central Military Commission's 5th meeting."

Previously, North Korea had announced a shift from inter-Korean affairs to adversarial affairs, signaling military actions against the South. On the 17th, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, in a spokesperson’s statement, announced plans including ▲ deployment of military units to the Mount Kumgang tourist area and Kaesong Industrial Complex ▲ redeployment of guard posts (GPs) in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from which troops had withdrawn ▲ resumption of military exercises in the West Sea ▲ military support for the distribution of leaflets against the South. The General Staff stated, "These military action plans will be further detailed and submitted for approval by the Central Military Commission of the Party at an early date." It was widely expected that the Central Military Commission would convene soon and implement the announced military measures, but Chairman Kim’s suspension of these plans has drawn attention to the background and intent behind this decision.

Furthermore, it was confirmed that North Korea has begun dismantling the loudspeaker broadcasting facilities aimed at South Korea, which were reinstalled in some frontline areas near the Peace Observatory in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, just three days after their reinstallation. A military official stated on the day, "North Korea is dismantling about ten loudspeakers aimed at South Korea that were reinstalled in some frontline areas near the Peace Observatory in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province." North Korea had reinstalled loudspeaker broadcasting facilities in about 20 locations in the frontline area starting from the afternoon of the 21st.

The Ministry of Unification officially confirmed during a regular spokesperson briefing that, upon checking the websites of external propaganda media such as 'Chosun Today,' 'Echo of Unification,' and 'Echo,' 13 articles condemning South Korea, which were reported in the early hours of the day, were all deleted within half a day. Accordingly, it is expected that North Korea’s movement to distribute over 12 million leaflets against the South will not occur for the time being. The distribution of leaflets against the South also requires approval from the Central Military Commission of the Party.

The government maintained a principled stance that inter-Korean agreements must be upheld in response to North Korea’s sudden suspension of military actions against the South. The Ministry of Unification stated, "We are carefully and prudently reviewing the North’s report today," and added, "We will monitor the situation." It emphasized, "There is no change in the government’s basic position that inter-Korean agreements must be respected." The Blue House did not issue a separate statement on the day and centralized communication regarding North Korea to the Ministry of Unification. Additionally, the government reiterated its firm warning regarding the distribution of leaflets against the North, which had been a cause of heightened tensions between the two Koreas.

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