A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said South Korea’s decision to suspend part of the CMA was a “prudent and restrained response,” citing North Korea’s “failure to adhere to the agreement.”
“The ROK suspension will restore surveillance and reconnaissance activities along the ROK side of the Military Demarcation Line, improving the ROK’s ability to monitor DPRK threats,” the official said, referring to South Korea and North Korea respectively by the initials of their official names.
South Korea resumed the use of crewed and uncrewed reconnaissance aircraft in the border area on Wednesday, and was conducting surveillance, Yonhap news agency reported.
The suspended North-South pact was signed at a 2018 summit between Kim and then South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Critics have said that the pact weakened Seoul’s ability to monitor North Korea, and that Pyongyang had violated the agreement.
“The CMA was a good agreement in theory, since risk reduction and confidence- and security-building measures are beneficial to both sides by reducing the risk of tactical clashes and inadvertent escalation,” said Bruce Klingner, a former CIA analyst now with the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation.
However, with further measures stalled, the measure came at the cost of curtailing allied surveillance and military training and did not reduce the North Korean military threat, he said.
Although it has remained publicly noncommittal, Washington had been privately urging Seoul to maintain the CMA, Klingner said.
North Korea said on Tuesday it placed its first spy satellite in orbit, drawing international condemnation for violating U.N. resolutions that bar its use of technology applicable to ballistic missile programs.
South Korea has said the North Korean satellite was believed to have entered orbit, but it would take time to assess whether it was operating normally.