Defense minister Shin Won-sik said that it appears North Korea did not destroy the underground facilities of its guard posts inside the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) as stipulated in the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at easing cross-border tensions.

In an interview on Wednesday, Shin said that the North appears to have only destroyed the structures above ground but left the rest of the underground facilities untouched, adding that the guard posts can be used immediately upon the completion of repairs.

The minister explained that North Korea’s immediate deployment of personnel and equipment to the posts indicates that there are basic facilities underground, adding that construction should have begun had the entire facility been destroyed but there is no sign of rebuilding.

He said that South Korea completely destroyed its guard posts according to the military agreement, and it takes a long time to restore them.

The minister also said that the weapons system unveiled by North Korean state media during leader Kim Jong-un's visit to a munitions factory earlier this week appears to be close-range ballistic missiles that were test-fired for the first time in April 2022.

Shin said that Pyongyang may sell the missiles to Russia, and a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile may be tested as early as this month.

[Photo : YONHAP News]