With Hamas' surprise attack on Israel sending shock waves across the world, South Korea has voiced concern that it could suffer a similar surprise assault from North Korea should Seoul fail to monitor the real-time military movements of its belligerent neighbor.
To remove restrictions on its ability to detect imminent attacks near the border, new South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik has revived ruling People Power Party calls to suspend parts of a 2018 agreement aimed at reducing inter-Korean border tensions.
However, a formal suspension by Seoul would come at a significant risk, experts warn, as Pyongyang could portray such a move as a provocation and considerably increase security issues for South Korea once existing guardrails are removed.