ROK decides to partially suspend 2018 military agreement with DPRK

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) decided Wednesday to partially suspend the military agreement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that was reached after the 2018 inter-Korean summit.

The partially suspended inter-Korean military pact was approved during an extraordinary cabinet meeting presided over by ROK Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Seoul.

With the suspended effectiveness, the ROK will restore reconnaissance and surveillance operations against the DPRK around the Military Demarcation Line dividing the two Koreas, said Han, adding that such a measure is vital for national security.

In April 2018, then-ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un met in the village of Panmunjom and signed the Panmunjom Declaration, followed by a joint declaration inked in Pyongyang in September 2018.

The military agreement, an annex to the joint declaration, was signed on Sept 19, 2018, to stop all hostile military acts and establish buffer zones across the inter-Korean border on the ground, at sea and in the air.