South Korea fears of North Korean aggression as Hamas attacks Israel
Illustrative photo (Photo: Getty Images)
South Korea is concerned about a potential attack from North Korea in the wake of the recent Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, according to the South Korean Minister of Defense, Shin Won-sik.
The Minister states that he will insist on suspending the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement to reinstate surveillance along the North Korean border.
The reason for this decision was the sudden attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists, which raised concerns in South Korea about similar attacks from North Korea.
The agreement established buffer zones along land and sea borders, as well as no-fly zones along the border to prevent clashes.
Minister Shin was particularly critical of the no-fly zones in the inter-Korean agreement, which he claimed prevented South Korea from fully utilizing its aerial surveillance capabilities at a time when the North Korean nuclear threat was increasing.
The Minister of Defense explains the importance of such surveillance. Although South Korea will require a complex legal process to fully withdraw from the agreement, suspending the agreement would only require a decision from the Cabinet meeting.
"Hamas has attacked Israel, and the Republic of Korea is under much strronger threat," Shin said.
He also explains that to counter this threat, South Korea needs to monitor the movements of North Korean military personnel using surveillance equipment to determine in advance whether they are preparing provocations or not.
"If Israel had flown aircraft and drones to maintain continuous monitoring, I think they might have not been hit like that," added the Minister of Defense.
Hamas attack on Israel
On October 7th, Hamas militants infiltrated Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Initially, they managed to capture several populated areas, but by evening, Israeli military forces had regained control of most of the territory and struck military targets and Hamas headquarters in response. Israel later regained control of all areas, but there may still be Hamas militants on the territory.
Israel declared a "state of war" and initiated the counter-terrorism operation called Operation "Iron Sword."
In the first two days following the start of the war, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) struck thousands of targets in the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli military command emphasizes that this was just the beginning, as the IDF intends to destroy Hamas.
