Defense Minister Shin Won-sik called Wednesday for "completely destroying" enemy firepower capabilities in case of a provocation as he inspected an Army unit tasked with overseeing operations to neutralize North Korean artillery.

Shin made the remarks during his visit to the Ground Operations Command in Yongin, 42 kilometers south of Seoul, after Hamas' surprise rocket attack on Israel renewed concerns in South Korea over Seoul's capabilities to counter a potential attack from North Korea.

"If the enemy provokes, punish them immediately, strongly and until the end," He was quoted as saying. "I call on you to push for developing and deploying an operational system that can completely destroy the enemy's long-range artillery capabilities within hours of an enemy provocation."

North Korea is known to operate some 1,000 artillery pieces along the heavily fortified border that separates the two Koreas.

Shin also reiterated his pledge to push for the suspension of the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement, noting that it has "greatly" limited Seoul's surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

"I will suspend areas of the agreement that urgently need to be restored as soon as possible," he said.

The agreement, signed under former liberal President Moon Jae-in who sought inter-Korean reconciliation, includes setting up no-fly zones near the border to prevent accidental clashes and other land and maritime buffer zones, restricting military drills and artillery firing. (Yonhap)