hankyoreh

Gyeonggi province. Military tensions are growing on the Korean peninsula. as the two sides faced off in a kind of “chicken race” of large-scale military exercises under a pseudo-state of war on the peninsula. (by Kim Jeong-hyo

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

In principle, the 1953 Armistice agreement that ended combat in the Korean War cannot be amended or abandoned by any one of its three parties - the UN, North Korea, and China. But no realistic means exist to stop one of them from unilaterally violating it.

The agreement consists of five parts. Article I is an article on the Military Demarcation Line (MDC) and Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), article II concerns special steps for a cease-fire and armistice (cessation of hostilities), article III has to do with prisoners of war, article IV lists proposals for the two governments, and article V is a list of supplementary provisions. Articles I, II and V are in question when North Korea unilaterally decides to pull out.

First of all, by disavowing the armistice agreement North Korea is refusing to abide by the terms in Article 1 on the MDC and DMZ. The MDC was drawn in 1953 between zones that were occupied by the UN forces on one side and North Korea and China on the other. By moving the forces two kilometers back on either side, the agreement created a DMZ measuring 4km across. So North Korea’s refusal to recognize the line and zone means that it is not acknowledging the territory or government of the two countries. This could be taken to mean that it might attempt a military invasion of South Korea at any time.

In and of itself, the disavowal of article II means that North Korea could resume acts of war. It states that, “The commanders of the opposing sides shall order and enforce a complete cessation of all hostilities in Korea by all armed forces under their control, including all units and personnel of the ground, naval, and air forces.” In refusing nullifying it, North Korea opens up the possibility of making an unannounced shift from armistice to hostilities and attacking South Korea.

Article II also bars North and South Korea from bringing in soldiers or weapons from outside their territory. If North Korea does not recognize its terms, it opens the way for it to do just that. The same article also includes provisions on the makeup, responsibilities, and authority of the Military Armistice Commission and Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which suspended their activities in 1991 after objections from Pyongyang. The disavowal of the agreement is also a repudiation of those organizations.

Finally, the miscellaneous provisions in Article V state that any amendments to the agreement must be agreed to by the two sides’ commanders and that the terms will remain in effect until a peaceful settlement is reached. These provisions likewise lose force with North Korea’s unilateral decision to pull out.

The agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, by UN commander Mark Clark, (North) Korean People’s Army commander Kim Il-sung, and Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai. South Korea was not a party to it, having ceded operational command to the UN Command early on in the Korean War.

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