North Korea said it is scrapping plans to increase military actions against South Korea, a de-escalation after a period of tension.
Leader Kim Jong Un convened a meeting with the country’s central military commission on Tuesday where he “took stock of the prevailing situation” and decided not to move forward with further increasing military pressure, North Korean state-run media reported. It is unclear what prompted the about-face.
The news comes after the hermit nation bombed an inter-Korean liaison office earlier this month. South Korea’s Ministry of Defense said after the bombing that it would continue to monitor its northern neighbor and maintain a “resolute military posture.” North Korea has also threatened to send troops into demilitarized areas along the border, which would be in violation of a 2018 inter-Korean military treaty.
The rift between the two countries began after Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said North Korea would cut off communication with South Korea because of dissident groups sending leaflets and aid across the border using large balloons. South Korea then said it would pursue legal action against two such groups, while North Korea threatened to send its own leaflets soaring across the border.
“The enraged people across the country are actively pushing forward with the preparations for launching a large-scale distribution of leaflets to pour the leaflets of punishment upon those in South Korea,” North Korean media said about the plans.
