North Korea said it would deploy new weapons on the South Korean border after the end of the military agreement

north korea He said he would send stronger armed forces and new weapons to his border with South Korea.North Korean media reported after Seoul suspended part of the 2018 military agreement between the two Koreas in protest over Pyongyang’s launch of a spy satellite.

South Korea A clause in the agreement was suspended on Wednesday It said it would immediately step up military surveillance along the fortified border with North Korea, in response to North Korea’s launch of a satellite the night before.

In a statement published by the North Korean News Agency Korean Central News AgencyThe North Korean Defense Ministry said it would restore all military measures it had suspended under the agreement aimed at reducing tensions between the two Koreas.

The statement said: “We will deploy more powerful armed forces and new military equipment near the military demarcation line.” “South Korea will bear full responsibility if an irreversible clash occurs between the North and the South“.

The pending North-South Agreement, known as Comprehensive military agreementIt was signed at a 2018 summit between the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un And the president of South Korea at the time Moon Jae In.

Critics said the agreement weakened Seoul’s ability to monitor North Korea while Pyongyang violated the agreement.

North Korea’s statement came hours later Launching a ballistic missile into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula Late Wednesday. The South Korean military said the bullet appeared to miss.

It was the start North Korea’s first known weapons launch in more than two months.

South Korea, the United States and Japan have It strongly condemned North Korea’s satellite launch Because they believed it was aimed at improving the country’s missile technology, as well as creating a space surveillance system. UN Security Council resolutions prohibit the launch of any satellite by North Korea. Considering it a cover for testing long-range missile technology.

The northern neighbors are trying to confirm whether their satellite launch was as successful as they claimed and whether the satellite is capable of performing reconnaissance functions.

The South Korean military said it had evaluated this The satellite had entered its orbit. But he said he needed more time to verify its success. Earlier, the Pentagon said it was evaluating the success of the launch, while Japan said there was no confirmation of North Korea’s report that the satellite had entered orbit.

North Korea’s space agency said its satellite Malejeong-1 It was launched into orbit on Tuesday night, about 12 minutes after liftoff. Leader Kim Jong Un watched the satellite launch at the site. He later visited the North Korean Space Agency’s Pyongyang control center, where he was informed that the satellite would officially begin its reconnaissance mission from December 1, after a fine-tuning period, according to state media.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim was shown satellite images of Anderson Air Base, Apra Port and other US military installations in the US Pacific territory of Guam, which, he said, were taken on Wednesday morning.

The images have not been released and many experts remain skeptical about whether the North Korean satellite is advanced enough for meaningful military reconnaissance.

In December, when North Korea released black-and-white satellite images of South Korean cities after a test launch, many experts said that The images were too rough for surveillance purposes. In 2012 and 2016, North Korea launched Earth observation satellites into orbit, but experts say none of them transmitted images to North Korea.

(With information from Reuters and Associated Press)