Tensions continue to grow between North Korea and the South/US following the September 2023 termination of the the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) to reduce military points of conflict between the two sides.
A report from 38 North updates the situation on ground, air and space:
Ground: “North Korea has repositioned its guard posts and deployed heavy weaponry along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), while the South Korean military has rearmed security guards in the Joint Security Area (JSA) and made preparations to restore some destroyed guard posts. Furthermore, North Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills off its west coast in early January 2024…In response, South Korea fired 400 artillery shells into waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL).” (See our report on the “fake” shelling by North Korea.)
Air: “North Korea’s deployment of drones, including a notable breach of a no-fly zone near Seoul’s presidential office in December 2022, has rung alarm bells regarding the audacity and sophistication of Pyongyang’s military tactics…In response, South Korea has made concerted efforts to bolster its own drone capabilities. On September 1, 2023, the South Korean military established the Drone Operations Command to conduct surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations.”
Space: “Another arena of competition is space, which has emerged as an extended battlefield between both Koreas as they have successfully launched their own spy satellites into orbit in late 2023 and are gearing up to send more to better monitor each other amid an intensifying arms race…Meanwhile, South Korea conducted a satellite launch in December 2023 from a US space test site as part of its initiative to develop an independent space-based surveillance system.”