North Korea platoon stands ready on disputed island, Seoul says

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- South Korea's military says it is aware of the deployment of a North Korean platoon on Hambak Island near the western maritime border.

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Wednesday at a national defense committee meeting at the National Assembly that North Korea may have stationed troops on a disputed island, News 1 reported.

Jeong said North Korean troops are present but no coastal guns were detected, according to the report.

South Korean surveillance of the island is ongoing, and the military is still in the process of verifying the North Korean equipment installed at the location, Jeong added.

The top South Korean defense official said troops may be carrying "personal arms and equipment" but denied local press reports that claimed artillery has been deployed to the island not far from South Korean territory.

North Korea may have deployed a platoon to Hambak Island for monitoring purposes, including tracking the construction of military facilities at the Northern Limit Line, keeping an eye on defecting North Koreans, and watching for Chinese fishing vessels, Jeong said.

The defense minister also said the latest North Korean maneuvers are not a violation of an inter-Korea military agreement signed in September 2018, Money Today reported.

"The military facilities were in place before the Sept. 19 military agreement," Jeong told South Korean lawmakers. "It is therefore difficult to say it is a violation of the military agreement."

Jeong also said that in the event of an emergency the North Korean forces can be "neutralized, by being fired at."

South Korea's military says North Korea's installation of facilities on Hambak Island and two other islands began in 2015.

Hambak Island is the latest military project that began in 2017, Seoul said.

Jeong also said the decision to seek an early return of more than two dozen U.S. military bases in the country, including Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, has no connection to a recent South Korean decision to terminate military intelligence sharing with Tokyo.