N. Korean soldiers in truce village armed with pistols: sources

South Korean soldiers stand on guard in the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, March 3, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korean soldiers stationed in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been carrying pistols since the North scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement, sources said Tuesday.

Arming soldiers in the JSA — known as the truce village of Panmunjom — is the latest in a series of North Korea's moves that nullify the pact, including restoring guard posts and bringing heavy firearms along the border with South Korea.

The two Koreas agreed to pull back firearms in the JSA in accordance with the Comprehensive Military Agreement, but North Korean military personnel in the area began carrying guns late last week, according to informed sources. Their South Korean counterparts still remain unarmed, they noted. The United Nations Command, which oversees security in the truce village, was not immediately available for comment.

The truce village of Panmunjom is the only spot where troops from South and North Korea stand face-to-face along the Military Demarcation Line.

North Korea said Thursday it would restore all military measures halted under the 2018 deal, after South Korea suspended part of the agreement in protest of North Korea's launch of a spy satellite.

According to photos disclosed by the defense ministry, North Korean troops were spotted installing temporary guard posts, carrying what appeared to be recoilless guns and standing guard at night inside the DMZ.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it has been keeping close tabs on North Korea's activities to take necessary steps.

"Intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S. have been closely monitoring North Korea's activities, while mulling corresponding measures," JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said during a press briefing, without providing further details.

On Monday, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said during an interview that the South Korean military plans to restore guard posts along the inter-Korean border in response to North Korea's bringing back troops and weapons in the DMZ. (Yonhap)