The leaders of the two Koreas met in Pyongyang on September 19, 2018 to announce an “Inter-Korean Military Agreement to implement the historic Panmunjom Declaration”. We know from history that peace agreements or non-aggression treaties with hostile totalitarian dictatorships can not often be relied upon to secure true peace, but have only provided tyrants with time and opportunities for aggression and invasions. That was the case with the Munich Agreement signed by Great Britain, France, and Italy in 1938, and the Paris Peace Agreement signed by the United States, South and North Vietnam, and the so-called National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in 1973.
The contents of the Inter-Korean Military Agreement clearly show why the Agreement is beneficial only to North Korea. The Agreement states, “The two sides have decided to operate a joint inter-Korean military committee to discuss the issues of ① large-scale military exercises, ② force enhancement programs aimed at the other side, ③ containment, blockade and navigation disturbance, and ④ stopping aerial reconnaissance activities against the other side.” The following are five reasons why the Inter-Korean Military Agreement should be scrapped.
First, the issue of large-scale military exercises is aimed at suspending the ROK-U.S. combined exercises. South Korea and the U.S. suspended all ROK-U.S. combined exercises since March of 2019 at Seoul’s strong request, after the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, while North Korea has continued to carry out its winter military drills in 2018 and 2019.
Second, the issue of force enhancement programs is aimed at condemning South Korea’s military build-up. North Korea’s military build-up is focused on nuclear and missile programs, but the agreement does not include a single word about nuclear and missile programs. Discussing force enhancement without limiting nuclear weapons and and missiles works only to the great advantage of North Korea.
Third, the issue of various types of containment, blockade and navigation disturbance is a trick by which North Korea seeks to neutralize proliferation security initiative (PSI) sanctions and an excuse for South Korea to turn a blind eye to international cooperation efforts regarding the PSI. The PSI provides for searches of suspicious North Korean vessels and a ban on their entry into any port to prevent North Korea from proliferating weapons of mass destruction.
Fourth, ending aerial reconnaissance by both sides is aimed at restricting only ROK and U.S. military capabilities. North Korea has no ability to conduct such reconnaissance, while South Korean and U.S. reconnaissance assets have been keeping close watch on North Korean military threats. Reconnaissance is a self-defense effort to maintain one’s preparedness by monitoring the military activities of the other side.
Fifth, the Joint Inter-Korean Military Committee (JIKMC) has already lost the reason for its existence. The Inter-Korean Military Agreement states that the South and the North will participate in the JIKMC to discuss the above issues. However, the ROK-U.S. combined military exercises and reconnaissance missions near the DMZ area have already been suspended without any consultations through the JIKMC.
As mentioned above, the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement is beneficial only to North Korea as it enables the North to undermine the defense capabilities of the Republic of Korea and it weakens the ROK-U.S. combined military readiness posture. President Moon, Jae-in claims that the Agreement has brought peace to the Korean Peninsula, but I wonder whether he has an extremely naive view of national security, or he is facilitating the communization of the Korean Peninsula by means of a tacit agreement with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
Kim Hyung-chulis a retiredLieutenant General in the Republic of Korea Air Force, and therepresentative of the “Voice of Generals”Youtube channel of theKorean Retired Generals and Admirals Defending the Nation (KORGAD)organization.
