Seoul urged to keep inter-Korean military pact as tensions soar: ‘it’s a safety pin for peace’
- The launch of anti-Pyongyang leaflets and partial suspension of an inter-Korean military accord are escalating tensions on the peninsula
- Despite the risk of ‘an armed clash’ over the pamphlets, it’s in South Korea’s interest to keep the pact in place ‘than walking away from it’, analysts say
The alarm centres around the North possibly using anti-aircraft guns to shoot down leaflet-carrying balloons, with observers saying it would be “anybody’s guess” as to how tensions could escalate, especially with the suspension of a 2018 conflict-easing agreement over Pyongyang’s recent military satellite launches.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Tuesday said the current conservative government would respect constitutional “freedom of expression” and allow activists to launch leaflets across the border into the North.
North Korea last month threatened to “pour a shower of shells” on the South over anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets, condemning the campaign as “psychological warfare” and “a pre-emptive attack” that would act as a “detonator” of a war bringing about an end to its southern rival.