S. Korea slams N. Korea for making false accusations over 2018 inter-Korean military accord

▲ North Korean soldiers are spotted near a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in this file photo provided by the South Korean defense ministry on Nov. 27, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at South Korea's unification ministry, speaks at a regular press briefing at the government complex building in Seoul on Dec. 4, 2023. (Yonhap)

N Korea-military accord

S. Korea slams N. Korea for making false accusations over 2018 inter-Korean military accord

SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry on Monday condemned North Korea for repeatedly making false accusations against South Korea over an 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, saying Pyongyang is seeking to drive a wedge in South Korea.

A North Korean commentator said Sunday a "physical clash and war" have become a matter of time on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of the scrapping of the military accord, warning that South Korea will face "total collapse" if it undertakes any hostile act.

The North has vowed to resume all military measures halted under the military tension reduction accord in a move to scrap the deal, after Seoul partially suspended it over North Korea's launch of a military spy satellite last month.

The unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs denounced North Korea for shifting the responsibility for the suspension of the accord to the South with false claims.

"We strongly condemn North Korea for repeating false and far-fetched claims over Seoul's partial suspension of the 2018 accord, which is our minimum defensive measure," Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

He also accused North Korea of insulting the South Korean leader with "rude language" and seeking an internal divide in South Korea.

On the North's claim that South Korea blared anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts along the border 3,200 times this year, Koo said the South Korean troops are not operating such propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts.

Loudspeaker broadcasts along the border are banned under South Korean law. In September, the Constitutional Court struck down a clause banning activists' cross-border leaflet campaigns in the law, saying it excessively restricts the right to freedom of expression.

Conservative critics and the ruling party called for the resumption of the loudspeaker broadcasts in a bid to stage psychological warfare against the North's continued provocations.

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