On Monday, North Korea issued a warning, stating that it would keep using its sovereign rights, including the launch of satellites, while its forces were reportedly rebuilding some guard posts that had been destroyed along its border with South Korea.

According to the official media outlet KCNA, North Korea’s foreign ministry stated that the country needed to keep an eye on the U.S. and its allies, which is why a reconnaissance satellite was launched last week.

“It is a legal and just way to exercise its right to defend itself and thoroughly respond to and precisely monitor the serious military action by the U.S. and its followers,” the report from KCNA stated.

Nuclear-trained

North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, claiming it had successfully entered orbit and was sending out pictures. However, experts and defense officials in South Korea stated that its capabilities had not been officially confirmed.

Following the launch, South Korea decided to reestablish aerial monitoring close to the border and suspend a significant provision of an inter-Korean military accord in 2018.

In response, North Korea said it would arm itself along the South Korean border and that the deal no longer bound it.

According to South Korea’s defense ministry, North Korean soldiers have been seen reintroducing heavy weaponry into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and erecting guard posts that both Koreas destroyed as part of the deal.

According to estimates from South Korea, the North had around 160 guard stations. In contrast, the South had 60 along the DMZ. 11 of them were destroyed by each side following the 2018 military agreement meant to reduce tension and avert unintentional military conflicts.

Since Friday, armed North Korean soldiers have been seen repairing damaged guard posts in several areas, according to images from DMZ webcams released by South Korea’s defense ministry.

It further claimed, citing a photo, that they were erecting what looked to be a recoilless rifle at a fortress, a mobile anti-vehicle weapon, or a light artillery piece.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saw new satellite images of Rome, the United States Anderson Air Force base in Guam, and other locations during his Monday morning visit to the space agency’s control center in Pyongyang, according to KCNA.

According to his office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received a briefing on North Korea’s most recent actions and issued an order for war preparation.

To debate the North’s satellite launch, the United States requested an unexpected meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

Nine Security Council members joined the United States on November 22 in denouncing the North’s satellite launch as a breach of many Security Council resolutions due to its use of ballistic missile technology.

According to North Korea’s foreign ministry, the statement demonstrated the Security Council’s dysfunctional status, with certain members mindlessly adopting the U.S. position and making meaningless declarations.

Notwithstanding Pyongyang’s continuous testing of progressively potent ballistic missiles, two of the permanent members with the ability to veto decisions—China and Russia—have declined to participate in any new Security Council penalties against the country. They did not participate in last week’s most recent statement.