The South Korean military stated on Jan. 8 that there is no longer a no-hostility zone under the inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sep. 19, 2018. This announcement came after North Korea conducted artillery fire in the maritime no-hostility zone off its western coast from Jan. 5 for three consecutive days. As a result, the military declared it would continue shooting drills and other exercises in the previously restricted land and sea no-hostility zones, effectively dismissing the buffer zone established by the agreement.
“North Korea has demonstrated through its actions that the cease-fire zone no longer exists by firing at the western sea cease-fire zone for the past three days after the declaration of the termination of the 9-19 North-South military agreement,” the military said. They added, “Accordingly, our military will continue to conduct firing and drills in the existing sea and land cease-fire zones.”
The 2020 Defense White Paper, published by the Ministry of National Defense, outlined the 9-19 North-South military agreement. Under this agreement, the two Koreas established a maritime buffer zone around the Northern Limit Line (NLL) to prevent armed conflicts at sea and a 10-kilometer (5 kilometers on each side of the military demarcation line) on land. However, following North Korea’s repeated provocations, the South Korean military has declared the land and sea no-hostile zones null and void. This development comes after the ‘no-fly zone’ suspension in November last year. Additionally, North Korea unilaterally declared the complete termination of the 9-19 military agreement on Nov. 23 of the previous year.
Consequently, the South Korean military is expected to resume artillery firing and regimental-level outdoor maneuvering exercises in the land buffer zone, activities that had been completely suspended after the 9-19 agreement. This resumption also includes live-firing of naval and coastal guns in the buffer zone and maritime maneuvering exercises at sea.
