North Korea announced Wednesday that it would suspend its planned military action against neighboring South, a war it had threatened that would end in devastation for the United States.
After weeks of escalating tensions, leader Kim Jong Un took an unexpected turn during a video conference meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Wednesday.
A national security body supervised by the dictator “took stock of the prevailing situation and suspended military action plans against the South,” the statement said.
No reason was given for the unexpected arrest other than the ongoing discussions to reinforce the country’s “war deterrent”.
Seoul was “closely reviewing” the North’s report, according to Yoh Sang-key, spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry.
Experts warned that it could only be a temporary move to make room for South Korea to make concessions in the ongoing negotiations between neighboring nations.
“What is clear is that the North said (the military action) was postponed, not canceled,” said Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean military officer who participated in inter-Korean military negotiations.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, also warned: “Now is not the time for anyone in Seoul or Washington to congratulate themselves on deterring North Korea.
“There may be a pause in the provocations or Pyongyang could temporarily de-escalate in search of external concessions. But North Korea will surely continue to reinforce its “deterrence” call.
“As long as the Kim regime refuses to denuclearize, it is likely that it will use Seoul as a scapegoat for its military modernization and domestic economic fighting policy after failing to obtain relief from the sanctions.”
Until Wednesday’s announcement, it was Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who made the most threats against South Korea.
It was the first time Kim had been known in nearly two weeks.
Authorities said it was also the first time it was known to use video conferencing, fueling speculation that it could be due to the coronavirus, despite the North claiming to have no cases.
The announcement came when the North claimed it had printed 12 million flyers to launch from balloons over the South in revenge for flyers from the South that denounced life across the border.
It was not immediately clear whether Kim’s decision to stop the military action would also halt the flyer campaign.
Nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington largely stalled after Kim’s second summit with President Donald Trump last year in Vietnam.
David Helvey, the acting acting undersecretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, said last week that North Korea’s recent actions showed it still “presents an extraordinary threat” to the United States and its allies, according to Wall Street. Journal.
With posts
.
