[2023 National Audit] Ruling and Opposition Clash Over the Fate of the '9·19 Military Agreement'

Opposition: "Military Agreement is a Firewall to Prevent Accidental Clashes"
Kim Young-ho: "It's Wrong for Us Alone to Comply When North Korea Violates"

During the Ministry of Unification's national audit, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in sharp disputes over the necessity to suspend the effectiveness of the 'September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement.' When the opposition raised the point that the military agreement is meant to prevent conflicts in border areas, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho stated, "The decision to suspend or terminate the agreement's effectiveness should be made after comprehensively reviewing not only conflicts in border areas but also the overall security situation."

On the 11th, during the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit of the Ministry of Unification, in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Byeong-seok's question, "Is it wise for us to suspend the agreement's effectiveness first when there have been no major provocations from North Korea?" Minister Kim replied, "We need to comprehensively evaluate various security situations." Lawmaker Park pointed out that "there has been no mention of abolishing the military agreement from North Korea," to which Minister Kim responded, "Although North Korea has not said that, their actual actions have violated the spirit of the agreement significantly," adding, "It is quite wrong for only us to abide by the agreement."

Kim Young-ho, Minister of Unification, is responding at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit on the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lawmaker Park defined the 'September 19 Military Agreement' as "the last firewall to prevent accidental misjudgments leading to conflicts in border areas," then introduced Ministry of National Defense data showing that North Korea's naval provocations crossing the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea decreased from 38 cases during the Park Geun-hye administration to 1 case each during the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk-yeol administrations. He further expressed repeated concerns, saying, "If we suspend or terminate the agreement first, it could provide North Korea with a pretext for provocations," and "Inter-Korean tensions will inevitably escalate."

Additionally, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho emphasized that the September 19 Military Agreement is a limited 'conflict prevention' agreement confined to border areas, not a disarmament discussion for the entire Korean Peninsula. He questioned, "The Minister of National Defense should prepare for war, and the Minister of Unification should prepare for dialogue to maintain peace, but are you only focusing on North Korea's military power?" Minister Kim responded, "It is true that the military agreement is meant to prevent misjudgments," but added, "National security must be considered comprehensively."

Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho is reviewing materials presented by Park Byeong-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit on the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho stated, "The September 19 Military Agreement is not an independent agreement but an annex to the Panmunjom Declaration and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration," and emphasized, "North Korea legalized its policy of using nuclear weapons last year and continues military provocations, violating the agreement. We must boldly declare that not only the military agreement but also the effectiveness of the Panmunjom Declaration can be suspended." Fellow party member lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok also countered the opposition's offensive by saying, "Since it affects overall inter-Korean relations, the Minister of Unification should naturally keep a close watch on the military agreement."

Meanwhile, following North Korea's drone provocations in December last year, President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed a review of suspending the effectiveness of the September 19 Military Agreement. Recently, amid Hamas's airstrikes on Israel, calls to suspend the military agreement's effectiveness have been raised again by newly appointed Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and others. However, Minister Kim Young-ho dismissed questions about the government's official stance on the military agreement's effectiveness, stating, "No decision has been made yet."

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