Seoul's Unification Ministry says N. Korea's decision to suspend "military actions" against S. Korea is "start of good sign"

통일부, 북 군사행동계획 보류는 "긍정적 신호의 출발"Weeks of inter-Korean tensions culminated with Wednesday's surprise announcement by the North that it was suspending plans for military retaliation against the South.Seoul hopes it's a positive signal forward in improving cross-border ties.Our Hong Yoo reports.Seoul's Unification Ministry said on Thursday that North Korea's decision to suspend the "military action plans" the regime had previously said it would take toward South Korea, was the "start of a good sign".When asked by reporters on how the government is translating North Korea's sudden change of attitude, an official from the Unification Ministry reiterated that the inter-Korean agreement must be adhered to and that improving inter-Korean relations for the peace of the peninsula is important.The official added that North Korea's move to suspend the "military action plans" is positive and hoped for an amicable negotiation between the two Koreas through communication to improve their relations.The North's military had said last Tuesday that it would soon position troops in the areas around Mount Geumgang and the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, restore guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone, resume all kinds of regular military exercises at the border and send anti-South Korea leaflets across the DMZ,... in retaliation for the anti-Pyeongyang leaflets being sent over the border by North Korean defectors in the South.Pulling back from its latest provocative plans, the vice chairman of the North's ruling party's Central Committee, Kim Yong-chol, said in a statement on Wednesday that now is a "critical moment" during which the regime can predict the prospects of cross-border ties based on "the future attitude and approach" of Seoul.He also said that the regime has halted a series of actions that it had been planning against the South.The official could be referring to the removal of propaganda loudspeakers that had been reinstalled along the border just days ago.And there also haven't been any anti-South Korea articles from the North's state-run media outlets since Kim's statement.Hong Yoo, Arirang News.