N.Korea suspends military action plans against S.Korea -KCNA

Political tensions between the rival Koreas have been rising over plans by groups in the South to fly propaganda leaflets over to the North, which Pyongyang claims violates an agreement between the two aimed at preventing military confrontation. In recent weeks the North blew up a joint liaison office on its side of the border, declared an end to dialogue with the South, and threatened military action.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chaired a meeting of the ruling party's Central Military Commission and decided to suspend military action plans against South Korea, official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

The meeting also discussed documents outlining measures for "further bolstering the war deterrent of the country," KCNA reported. Political tensions between the rival Koreas have been rising over plans by groups in the South to fly propaganda leaflets over to the North, which Pyongyang claims violates an agreement between the two aimed at preventing military confrontation.

In recent weeks the North blew up a joint liaison office on its side of the border, declared an end to dialogue with the South, and threatened military action. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, warned last week of retaliatory measures against South Korea that could involve the military, without elaborating.

The General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) later said it has been studying an "action plan" to re-enter zones that had been demilitarized under an inter-Korean pact and "turn the front line into a fortress." North Korea's military was seen putting up loudspeakers near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), a military source told Reuters on Tuesday. Such systems were taken down after the two Koreas signed an accord in 2018 to cease "all hostile acts."