Pyongyang had threatened to send troops to the demilitarized zone between the two countries in response to the launch of defamatory pamphlets. 10 speakers used to relay propaganda against Seoul removed from the border. Analysts: Kim wants concessions from South Koreans.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Korea has suspended military operations against Seoul, reports the official North Korean KCNA news agency. The decision was made yesterday by leader Kim Jong-un. In a further gesture of détente, the North also removed 10 speakers used for propaganda against the South from the border.
Last week, Pyongyang had threatened to send its troops to the demilitarized zone between the two countries, in an act of retaliation for the launch of defamatory leaflets into their territory by dissidents sheltered in the South.
On June 16, Kim blew up the building that housed the Seoul Liaison Office in the North Korean city of Kaesong. A few days later, the Northern government had announced plans to launch millions of anti-Seoul flyers across the border.
Analysts claim that Kim ratcheted up tension to obtain concessions from South Koreans. Pyongyang’s leader accuses South Korea of bowing to the US sanctions policy used against his country.
The two Koreas are technically at war; North and South never signed a peace treaty at the end of the conflict which raged on the peninsula from 1950 to 1953.