North Korea has destroyed sections of inter-Korean roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border, prompting South Korea’s military to fire warning shots in response.
This escalation comes amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang announcing last week its intention to completely sever these connections and reinforce its side of the border as part of its new “two-state” approach, effectively abandoning its long-standing goal of reunification.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the destruction occurred around midday on Tuesday in northern areas of the road and rail lines connected to the South.
Seoul’s unification ministry, responsible for cross-border relations, condemned the act as a blatant violation of previous inter-Korean agreements, describing it as “highly abnormal.”
Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam expressed dismay, stating, “It is deplorable that North Korea is repeatedly conducting such regressive behavior.”
In response to the explosions, the South Korean military fired warning shots south of the military demarcation line, although no damage was reported on their side.
A video released by the South’s military captured the explosion and a plume of smoke rising from the destroyed road section, where North Korea had erected a black barrier.
A sign on the South Korean side read “Goodbye” and indicated that the North Korean city of Kaesong was just 10 meters (33 feet) ahead.
The footage also showed several dump trucks and earth movers at the scene, accompanied by North Korean military officials overseeing the operations.
The JCS noted that North Korea had already begun installing landmines and barriers along the border and had warned of possible detonations.
In light of these developments, South Korea has heightened surveillance and preparedness. North Korea has been actively working to cut inter-Korean ties, redefining the South as a separate hostile entity since Kim Jong Un declared it a “primary foe” earlier this year, asserting that unification is no longer attainable.
