The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) scrapped all political and military agreements with South Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported Friday.
"First, all the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the north and the south will be nullified," said a statement issued by the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, the DPRK organization in charge of ties with South Korea.
"Second, the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, Cooperation and Exchange between the North and the South and the points on the military boundary line in the West Sea stipulated in its appendix will be nullified," it said, denouncing the South Korean government for pushing the inter-Korean relations to the brink of a war.
The South Korean government expressed its deep regret Friday over a decision by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK).
The remarks were made by Kim Ho-nyoun, a spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry. "Our government expresses deep regret," he said.
The South Korean side urged the DPRK "to accept our call for dialogue as soon as possible," he said.
The decision added tension on the Korean Peninsula and raised the possibility of a naval clash along the disputed maritime border on the Yellow Sea, local media said.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Defence Ministry said it will take "firm counteraction" against any attempt by the DPRK to violate South Korea's sea border on the Yellow Sea.
"We will uphold the maritime border just as we maintain the military demarcation line on land," said Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae.
"The agreement reached between the two sides cannot be scrapped just because one side decides to scrap it," Won said. "We have stuck to it, and our stance remains the same."
Won said the South Korean military has stepped up its monitoring activities along the border after DPRK announced to scrap inter-Korean agreements.
There has been no unusual activities so far along the inter-Korean border, he added.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2009)