North Korea warned on Monday it would continue to exercise its sovereign rights, including through satellite launches, while its troops were reported to be restoring some demolished guard posts on the border with South Korea.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said the launch of a reconnaissance satellite last week was prompted by the need to monitor the United States and its allies.
Ministry argued it is a legal and just way to exercise its right to defend itself and thoroughly respond to and precisely monitor the serious military action by the U.S. and its followers.
Nuclear-armed North Korea launched the satellite last Tuesday, saying it successfully entered orbit and was transmitting photographs, but South Korean defence officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified.
The launch prompted South Korea to suspend a key clause in a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, stating that North Korean soldiers had been observed bringing back heavy weapons into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border and setting up guard posts that the two countries demolished under the agreement.
