According to the report, in the face of the tense situation on the peninsula, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Suk-yeol went to Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea on the 28th to inspect the local "Central Front Forward Surveillance Post (GP)" and have lunch with the South Korean soldiers stationed there. Yoon Suk-yeol urged the South Korean team to remain vigilant and demanded that when faced with any "provocative acts", they should not only report immediately, but also adopt an attitude of "cutting before playing" - that is, quickly making a "counterattack" before reporting to eliminate potential provocative threats.
The strong order comes as South Korea's National Intelligence Service has issued an "invasion alert" that North Korea "may launch a provocation in early 2024." This suggests that South Korea believes that the countdown to North Korea's actions has begun, as it is the end of the year.
South Korea made that judgment based on recent actions by North Korean troops and rhetoric directed at South Korea. Under the impetus of the United States, the situation on the peninsula has long been heating up, especially with the strengthening of the "US-ROK alliance" and the "US-Japan-ROK alliance", the DPRK feels threatened and has begun to cooperate with Russia. North Korea's recent successful launch of satellites and intercontinental missiles poses a direct threat to the United States. Kim Jong-un has warned that he will respond to any nuclear threat with nuclear weapons and has asked the North Korean military to be ready to respond to "confrontational behavior" by the United States.
Recently, the situation at the "38th parallel" has also been extremely tense, as the inter-Korean army has resumed its armed deployment in Panmunjom, complicating the situation on the front. South Korea claims that North Korean forces are being redeployed to the vicinity of the "38th parallel," including the redeployment of posts and trenches,** and that they are also back in position.
Given that Seoul is only a few tens of kilometers from the front-line "demilitarized zone", South Korea fears that North Korea has long-range artillery with a range to cover Seoul, which has added tensions. In order to prevent a surprise attack by North Korean special forces, Seoul even conducted a "simulation training" of joint operations between the South Korean army and the police to practice how to respond to a "North Korean attack".
However, some experts believe that the situation on the peninsula has not deteriorated to this point. They believe Yoon's move may be an attempt to divert focus and cover up the fact that his approval ratings are slipping. Yoon's approval rating has reportedly dropped to about 30 percent, and in an effort to turn the tide, he has made a series of large-scale cabinet changes. However, these measures did not work, and even some members of the alliance, including former leader of the People's Power Party, Lee Jun-seok, left, indicating that Yoon's approval rating is in jeopardy. In order to boost his approval ratings, he can only risk adopting a tough image in the hope of changing the status quo.
Yoon's risky behavior did not lead to a solution to the problem, on the contrary, he pushed the whole of South Korea into danger. In particular, his approval of the direct actions of the South Korean military has led to a rapid escalation of tensions in the "38th parallel" area, which may further exacerbate the risk of unexpected conflicts in the future.