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NKorea Scraps Military Deal with South, Vows to Deploy New Weapons at Border

A general view shows the Lotte Tower (L) and the sun rising over the Han river in Seoul on November 22, 2023. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
A general view shows the Lotte Tower (L) and the sun rising over the Han river in Seoul on November 22, 2023. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
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NKorea Scraps Military Deal with South, Vows to Deploy New Weapons at Border

A general view shows the Lotte Tower (L) and the sun rising over the Han river in Seoul on November 22, 2023. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
A general view shows the Lotte Tower (L) and the sun rising over the Han river in Seoul on November 22, 2023. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

North Korea said on Thursday it would deploy stronger armed forces and new weapons on its border with the South, a day after Seoul suspended part of a 2018 military accord between the two Koreas in a protest over Pyongyang's launch of a spy satellite.
North Korea's defense ministry said in a statement carried by the KCNA news agency that it would restore all military measures it had halted under the deal with South Korea, which was designed to de-escalate tension along their shared border.
"From now on, our army will never be bound by the September 19 North-South Military Agreement," the statement said. "We will withdraw the military steps, taken to prevent military tension and conflict in all spheres including ground, sea and air, and deploy more powerful armed forces and new-type military hardware in the region along the Military Demarcation Line."
Tuesday's satellite launch was the North's third attempt this year after two failures and followed a rare trip by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia, during which President Vladimir Putin vowed to help Pyongyang build satellites, Reuters reported.
South Korean officials said the latest launch most likely involved Russian technical assistance under a growing partnership that has seen Pyongyang supply Russia with millions of artillery shells.
Russia and North Korea have denied arms deals but have promised deeper cooperation, including on satellites.
South Korea on Wednesday suspended part of the inter-Korean deal in response to Pyongyang's launch and said it would immediately step up surveillance along the heavily fortified border with the North.
North Korea accused South Korea of scrapping the deal, known as the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA), and said Seoul will be held "wholly accountable in case an irretrievable clash breaks out" between the two Koreas.

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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba Resigns as Russian Strikes Kill 7 People in Lviv 

Local residents walk past a burning car following a missile attack in Lviv on September 4, 2024. (AFP)
Local residents walk past a burning car following a missile attack in Lviv on September 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba Resigns as Russian Strikes Kill 7 People in Lviv 

Local residents walk past a burning car following a missile attack in Lviv on September 4, 2024. (AFP)
Local residents walk past a burning car following a missile attack in Lviv on September 4, 2024. (AFP)

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine's most recognizable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation on Wednesday before an expected Cabinet reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed at least seven people in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the war began.

Kuleba, 43, didn't give a reason for stepping down and his resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent last week as he tries to strengthen the government 2½ years into the war.

During Russia’s war in Ukraine, Kuleba has been second only to Zelenskyy in carrying Ukraine’s message and needs to an international audience, whether through social media posts or meetings with foreign dignitaries. In July, Kuleba became the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit China since Russia’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022. He has been foreign minister since March 2020.

More than half the current Cabinet will undergo changes, said Davyd Arakhamiia, a leader of Zelenskyy’s party in the Ukrainian parliament. Ministers will be resigning on Wednesday and new appointments will be made Thursday, he said.

Russian attacks, meanwhile, killed at least seven people and wounded 35 others in an overnight strike on Lviv, Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said Wednesday morning. A child and a medical worker were among the dead and others are in critical condition, he said.

An overnight strike also wounded five people in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, regional head Serhii Lysak said Wednesday morning.

Zelenskyy reacted to the attacks by urging Ukraine's allies to give Kyiv “more range” to use Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.

The attack happened a day after two ballistic missiles blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in Poltava in Ukraine, killing more than 50 people and wounding more than 200 others, Ukrainian officials said, in one of the deadliest Russian strikes since the war began.

The missiles tore into the heart of the Poltava Military Institute of Communication’s main building, causing several stories to collapse.

The missiles hit shortly after an air-raid alert sounded, when many people were on their way to a bomb shelter, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said, describing the strike Tuesday as “barbaric.”

Poltava is about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border.

The attack happened as Ukrainian forces sought to carve out their holdings in Russia’s Kursk border region after a surprise Ukrainian incursion that began Aug. 6 and as the Russian army hacks its way deeper into eastern Ukraine.