North Korea has announced that it is closing down all its non-aggression pacts with South Korea. The hotline with Seoul will be closed and even the shared border point will be closed. The announcement has come after a fresh round of UN sanctions, which punishes Pyongyang for the nuclear test held last month.
Pyongyang earlier said that it had the right to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike, as it was pulling out of the armistice that was responsible for the end of the Korean War. China called for North as well as South to show restraint and to continue talking. The country is also considered to be the North’s only major ally.
It rarely happens that Beijing criticizes its ally, but it did speak out against the nuclear test that was conducted by North Korea and has also thrown its support behind the UN. The announcement by North Korea stated that it was cancelling the non-aggression pacts with the South, as well as closing the main Panmunjom border crossing.
Over the years, the two Koreas have reached agreements, including in the year 1991, on resolving the disputes and avoiding military clashes.
