NK weekly-inter-Korean news

Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

------------

Defense chief says N. Korea keeps violating 2018 military agreement near maritime buffer zone

SEOUL -- Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Friday that North Korea has violated the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement near the western maritime buffer zone on a few thousand occasions, reiterating his call to suspend the accord in order to bolster military readiness.

Shin made the assessment during a parliamentary audit session that North Korea's violations of the military tension reduction agreement near the northwestern islands were "much more serious than was previously known."

------------

No imminent sign of N. Korea's spy satellite launch: unification ministry

SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry said Thursday there is no imminent sign of North Korea launching a military spy satellite, despite its earlier pledge to make a third attempt in October.

The North launched a military spy satellite, named the Malligyong-1, mounted on a Chollima-1 rocket in May and August, but both ended in failure. Pyongyang has announced it will make a third attempt in October.

------------

(5th LD) 4 N. Koreans cross eastern sea border in apparent defection bid

SEOUL/SOKCHO, South Korea -- A group of four unidentified individuals from North Korea crossed the eastern maritime inter-Korean border on a wooden boat early Tuesday, officials said, in an apparent attempt to defect to South Korea.

The Coast Guard and military officials secured the 7.5-meter-long boat carrying the North Koreans in waters east of Sokcho, 151 kilometers northeast of Seoul, a military official said, after South Korean fishermen at the scene reported seeing an "unusual" boat at around 7:10 a.m.

------------

Marine chief says suspended live-fire drills on border islands need to be resumed

GYERYONG, South Korea -- South Korea's Marine chief said Tuesday live-fire drills on border islands in the Yellow Sea need to be resumed to enhance military vigilance against North Korean provocations, as they have been suspended following the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement.

In a parliamentary audit session, Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Gye-hwan said military readiness has weakened on five front-line islands as live-fire exercises involving major military assets, including K-9 self-propelled howitzers, have not been held since the military tension reduction accord took effect.

------------

(2nd LD) S. Korea vows to bolster defense system against N. Korean missile threat

GYERYONG, South Korea -- The South Korean military will beef up its defense capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threat and asymmetric warfare tactics, the Army said Monday.

In a policy report for a parliamentary audit, the Army outlined its plan to enhance the Three-Axis System designed to track, detect and strike North Korea's missile and artillery systems amid renewed security concerns over Seoul's defense capabilities in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]