North Korea rebuilds border posts after scrapping deal

South Korea on Monday said soldiers from the North had begun to rebuild guard posts on the frontier after already poor relations soured further over Pyonygyang's latest satellite launch.

Seoul last week partially suspended a 2018 deal that was aimed at rapprochement between the two countries, leading North Korea to say it was ditching the agreement altogether.

What is happening at the border?

South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited the country's military as saying Pyongyang had sent armed personnel and equipment to put the guard posts back in place.

The military said the troops had been "seen rebuilding the guard posts from Friday," and that it expected all 11 border posts within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas to be restored.

South Korea's Defense Ministry circulated four photos to the media that it said showed North Korean soldiers rebuilding a post and moving a suspected recoil-free rifle to a newly constructed trench.

The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he had ordered the military to keep a close watch on the North, maintaining a firm readiness.

Why are tensions worsening now?

South Korea last week said it would partially suspend the deal and begin aerial surveillance in response to the launch of a satellite by North Korea.

Seoul said it was "a minimum defensive measure" in response to the North's plan to improve missile technology and construct a space-based surveillance system.

This prompted Pyongyang to say it would no longer be bound by the agreement and that it would deploy powerful weapons at the frontier.

Both South Korea and the United States condemned the satellite launch as a provocation that endangered regional peace.

Resolutions from the United Nations Security Council have banned any satellite launches by North Korea because they are believed to be covers for the test of long-range missiles.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry has said the satellite launch was prompted by a need to monitor the United States and its allies.