After an exchange of artillery fire and reports that North Korea was going on war footing, Seoul and Pyongyang have reached an agreement that opens the door to a longer discussion and the lowering of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Neither outcome — a genuine North-South dialogue and smoother inter-Korean relations — is guaranteed. It is important, however, that both governments have lowered military threat levels and discussions have resumed.
This most recent standoff began in early August, when two South Korean soldiers were wounded by land mines while patrolling the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); North Korean forces were alleged to have crossed over into South Korean territory to plant the mines. That prompted the South to resume loudspeaker broadcasts of propaganda into the North, a practice that had been suspended for a decade. Pyongyang tried to silence the loudspeakers with artillery shots across the border. Seoul promptly retaliated with a volley of its own.
The North then issued an ultimatum, demanding that Seoul stop the "provocations" and "psychological warfare." If it failed to do so, North Korean ambassador to the United Nations An Myong Hun warned, "our military counteraction will be inevitable and that counteraction will be very strong." It was also reported that the North Korean military "entered into a wartime state." The North's ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong, kept up the pressure by telling journalists that "the situation of the country is now inching closer to the brink of war."