South Korea's military chief orders firm response to any further North Korean provocation
In short
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Yeong-seung (진영승) visited a frontline corps command on 20 October and ordered troops to respond firmly if North Korea commits further provocation using South Korea's operations as a pretext. He said North Korea's attempt to shift blame for rising tension onto the South Korean military was unacceptable. His remarks followed a statement a day earlier by Kim Yo Jong (김여정) saying Pyongyang was considering loudspeaker broadcasts and more strike means near the border.
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Jin Yeong-seung, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, ordered a firm response to any further North Korean provocation during a visit to a frontline unit on 20 October. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he went to the corps command responsible for the central front, checked military readiness and chaired a meeting of operational commanders attended by the ground operations commander and frontline corps commanders. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 ]
Jin said it was a clear provocation and a violation of the armistice agreement that the enemy buried mines south of the military demarcation line (MDL) and seriously injured South Korean soldiers who were carrying out normal operations. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
Jin also addressed North Korea's statement of 19 October. "It is unacceptable that North Korea defined our legitimate operational measures as a provocation and shifted responsibility for the rise in military tension onto our military in a brazen reversal," he said, according to several outlets. He then ordered: "If the enemy commits further provocation using our military's legitimate measures as a pretext, respond firmly." [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 12 ]
Jin said the military had responded consistently and firmly, according to principles and standards, to armistice violations such as the enemy crossing the MDL, and would keep doing so without wavering. He added that the military would carry out an operation to strengthen the initiative in the DMZ. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
Kim Yo Jong, a director in North Korea's Workers' Party, said in a statement on the evening of 19 October that the situation on the southern border was very unstable. She said the North's military leadership was reviewing, as a pre-emptive and overpowering measure, deploying more tactical strike means near the entire southern border line and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea. Chosun Ilbo reported that she took issue with South Korean warning shots and broadcasts after North Korean troops crossed the MDL, and Dong-A Ilbo that she objected to the warning shots. [ 2 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reported that the meeting assessed the continued activity of North Korean troops near the MDL after the North Korean provocation of 21 September, and examined operational response options. After the meeting Jin inspected the readiness of the frontline corps and, according to Newsis and Seoul Economic Daily, asked for strict command and operational discipline, with firm resolve to complete the mission of protecting the nation and its people. [ 2 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Jin was briefed that North Korea's border fortification work near the MDL was continuing after the incident in which a South Korean soldier was seriously injured by a North Korean mine south of the line. [ 5 ]
Why it matters
The exchange of statements shows both sides blaming each other for tension along the military demarcation line. The documents do not say whether North Korea has carried out the loudspeaker or deployment measures it said it was considering.
Key facts
- Jin Yeong-seung, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the corps command responsible for the central front on 20 October, checked military readiness and chaired a meeting of operational commanders. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
- Jin ordered that if the enemy commits further provocation using South Korea's legitimate measures as a pretext, troops should respond firmly. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
- Jin said North Korea burying mines south of the military demarcation line (MDL) and seriously injuring South Korean soldiers on normal operations was a clear provocation and a violation of the armistice agreement. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
- Jin said it was unacceptable that on 19 October North Korea labelled South Korea's legitimate operational measures a provocation and shifted responsibility for rising military tension onto the South Korean military. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
- Jin said the military would carry out an operation to strengthen the initiative in the DMZ. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
- Kim Yo Jong said in a statement on 19 October that the situation on the southern border was very unstable and that the North was reviewing deploying more tactical strike means near the southern border and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Jin Yeong-seung visited a corps command on the central front on 20 October, checked readiness and chaired a meeting of operational commanders. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
- Jin ordered a firm response if North Korea commits further provocation using South Korea's measures as a pretext. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
- Kim Yo Jong said on 19 October that the North was reviewing deploying more tactical strike means near the southern border and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Jin said the military would carry out an operation to strengthen the initiative in the DMZ. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 12 ]
Still unclear
- Whether North Korea will actually resume loudspeaker broadcasts or deploy more strike means near the border. Kim Yo Jong's statement, as quoted, says only that these steps are under review.
- What South Korea's "legitimate operational measures" consisted of. Chosun Ilbo refers to South Korean warning shots and broadcasts after North Korean troops crossed the MDL, and Dong-A Ilbo to warning shots, but the Joint Chiefs' quoted words do not specify the measures.
- Who is responsible for the rise in tension. Jin accused North Korea of shifting blame onto the South Korean military, while Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo reported that Kim Yo Jong objected to South Korea's warning shots; the documents give no independent account.