Guest Editorial Writer. ROK Military Academy Class 40  In its 2025 Liberation Day address, the Lee Jae-myung administration announced its intention to "proactively and step-by-step restore the September 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement." Restoration increases the possibility of North Korea making military misjudgments, which could lead to war. It is incomprehensible to repeat such dangerous actions under the guise of peace. Restoration is unacceptable, even with the condition that North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons. Given that the current administration's push for restoration constitutes an act of aiding the enemy, its origins and implications must be scrutinized.

From the Inception, Violation, and Suspension to the Restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement 

The September 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement began on September 19, 2018, when the defense ministers of the two Koreas signed the "Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain." While the agreement aimed to ease military tensions and build trust, its inception was unconstitutional—having bypassed parliamentary consent—and its content was a cowardly political deal that essentially surrendered national security under the pretext of peace. 

Following the agreement, North Korea committed approximately 3,400 violations, including the firing of coastal artillery on Changrin Islet in November 2019, gunfire directed at our military's guard posts (GP) in May 2020, the infiltration of small drones in 2022, and persistent ballistic missile provocations and the opening of artillery gun ports up until November 2023. 

In response, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration defined North Korea’s ballistic missile provocations and satellite launches as a total violation of the agreement and suspended its effect on November 22, 2023. Since the suspension, the government has strengthened security posture by resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea and restoring surveillance and reconnaissance activities along the Military Demarcation Line. The Lee Jae-myung administration, however, has declared the restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement as part of its official policy, prioritizing peace above all else. 

Why Public and Military Sentiment Opposes the Restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement 

No peace treaty in history has ever included the paralysis of surveillance capabilities. Even failed peace treaties in the past focused on increasing surveillance capabilities to verify compliance, even while reducing armaments. During the Cold War, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) included verification procedures that allowed the U.S. and the Soviet Union to transparently monitor each other's compliance, with the goal of limiting or reducing nuclear arsenals.

Limiting the surveillance capabilities of the September 19 Military Agreement is akin to "gouging out our own eyes." Amid a state of acute confrontation, the agreement established no-fly zones and withdrew guard posts (GP) within the DMZ. It was later revealed that North Korea only destroyed the visible exterior of its guard posts while maintaining their operational functions. By dismantling and restricting our own surveillance capabilities, our military effectively gouged out its own "eyes," which are vital for identifying enemy movements, detecting signs of provocation, and monitoring threats. Restoring such an anti-state act is, in itself, an act of aiding the enemy. One must ask whether the defense minister who signed the agreement on September 18, 2018, was in his right mind and conscience. 

The restrictions on immediate response and the suspension of training under the September 19 agreement are equivalent to "severing the limbs" of our combat power. Establishing buffer zones near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea, closing coastal artillery ports, and halting artillery and field maneuvering drills near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) weaken the military’s basic combat effectiveness and leave us unable to counter surprise attacks. Unilaterally paralyzing our military's defense and response capabilities for the sake of an illusory peace will be recorded as an unforgivable act of treason. 

Restoring the September 19 Military Agreement, which was a cowardly deal bordering on surrender, is a treacherous act. It remains the unwavering sentiment of the military that the agreement was a humiliating concession. If the administration does not halt the restoration of this agreement, it will inevitably be suspected of being a pro-North Korean government that follows directives from Pyongyang, much like the underground spy networks affiliated with the KCTU.

What is needed is not the restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement, but the restoration of normal military capabilities.

Restoration of the ROK-U.S. Alliance: Due to illusory pragmatic (dual-track) diplomacy, the ROK-U.S. alliance is in a precarious position, like a round rock balanced on a hill. The source of military strength that remains unshaken by any crisis is the restoration of a solid ROK-U.S. alliance. We must restore an alliance based on shared values—a bond so deep it acts like a creed, ensuring that neither ruling nor opposition parties can voice dissent against it. 

Strengthening Surveillance of North Korea: With Kim Jong-un’s attendance at China’s Victory Day celebrations, North Korea has grown into a puppet organization capable of creating real threats, bolstered by China and Russia, much like it was before the Korean War. We must build a system that utilizes reconnaissance satellites and high-performance drones around the clock to accurately grasp trends in North Korea's nuclear and missile development. We need a real-time response system that monitors nuclear facility activity via satellite, uses drones to detect minute changes in specific areas, and employs AI-based pattern analysis to rapidly process massive amounts of data. 

Restoration of Psychological Operations against North Korea: Psychological warfare should not be limited to mere loudspeaker broadcasts criticizing the North Korean slave state; it requires a strategic approach that provides information genuinely helpful to the lives of North Korean citizens and fosters shifts in their consciousness. We should develop and utilize content that allows North Korean residents to naturally recognize the superiority of South Korea in terms of economy, culture, and military strength, including a "system linking information and psychological warfare" that delivers relevant information to local residents when internal problems or troop movements are detected. Restoring psychological operations may be the only leverage available to resume dialogue. 

Integrated Execution of Strategy: The military must build an "AI Operations Room" that integrates and analyzes all military information in real time. By combining existing physical weapon systems (tanks, self-propelled artillery, drones, aircraft, missiles, etc.) with AI-based predictive analysis and hyper-connected networks, we can preemptively detect signs of North Korean provocation and build a system that enables high-speed, decisive action.

This column is a piece of advice for veteran security organizations to raise their voices against the restoration of the September 19 Military Agreement, an appeal to patriotic citizens who view security as the foundation of the state to understand the reality of the situation, and a stern message to the military leadership to uphold their duty to protect the Republic of Korea and its Constitution with a sense of pride and a clear conscience.