The guards of the Joint ** Command, who are on duty at the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA) on the inter-Korean border, began to return to a state of armament.
The Joint ** Command said in a statement on Tuesday (December 19) that it was decided to give the security personnel of the joint security area the authority and qualifications to rearm in consideration of the fact that North Korean soldiers are carrying pistols to ensure the safety of the population and military personnel.
The Joint Command made the above decision after careful consideration and conveyed to the ROK and the DPRK the position that the disarmament of the joint security area would be more conducive to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the previous consensus. According to the statement, the Joint ** Command also explained to relevant people of the DPRK military that the joint security area is still an occasion for dialogue and implementation of the "Armistice Agreement" of the Korean War.
According to a South Korean source, because North Korean officers and soldiers on duty in the joint security area began to carry pistols at the end of November, South Korea asked the Joint Command at the beginning of this month to allow South Korean personnel on duty to re-arm.
On November 22, South Korea suspended the effect of Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the "919 ROK-DPRK Military Agreement" on "establishing a no-fly zone over the demilitarized zone" to counter North Korea's launch of a military reconnaissance satellite. North Korea immediately announced the full dissolution of the agreement and the resumption of various military measures, starting from November 24 to repair the 11 frontline posts previously dismantled under the military agreement, and deploy troops and heavy **, the agreement was effectively nullified. After that, North Korean servicemen on duty in the Panmunjom joint security area began to carry pistols.