North Korea blows up sections of roads linking it to the South

New episode in the rise in tensions between North Korea and South Korea: the North Korean army destroyed with explosives, Tuesday October 15, sections of roads formerly used for cross-border trade with South Korea , according to Seoul.

“North Korea blew up parts of roads in Gyeongui and Donghae, north of the military demarcation line”said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, using the official name of the inter-Korean border. In response, South Korean forces carried out “response fire” on their own territory, he added, without further details.

The North Korean army warned on October 9 that it would cut ” definitely “ the highly symbolic road and rail axes connecting the two countries, and building “strong defensive structures” along the border. In practice, the border between the two Koreas is already completely closed. Since the end of the war in 1953, the two inter-Korean highways and railway lines have only been reopened during brief periods of relaxation.

In June 2020, North Korea had already dynamited an Inter-Korean Liaison Office opened in 2018, while relations between Seoul and Pyongyang were experiencing one of these temporary improvements, in Kaesong, a few kilometers north of the border.

Hardening of Kim Jong-un’s policy

The destruction of these unused roads is a new illustration of the hardening of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s policy towards South Korea, which he has designated as “the main enemy” of his country.

In January, Mr. Kim also ordered the dissolution of all institutions responsible for relations with Seoul and Korean reunification plans and threatened to go to war for any violation of his territory “even if only by 0.001 millimeter”.

Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated considerably since conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power in Seoul in 2022, favoring a firm policy towards the North and a strengthening of the military alliance. with the United States and Japan. The three allies regularly conduct joint military exercises that Pyongyang views as dress rehearsals for an invasion of the North.

According to North Korean state media, Kim Jong-un chaired a meeting of the country’s top military officials on Monday and outlined the lines of a “immediate military action”. This meeting took place as the North Korean regime complains about several drone flights which, according to it, have dropped propaganda leaflets full of propaganda on the capital. “inflammatory rumors and nonsense” and accuses Seoul of being responsible. Pyongyang warned on Sunday that one more drone would be considered “a declaration of war”.

drone infiltrations

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun denied any involvement, before a clarification from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff which declared “unable to confirm whether the North Korean allegations were true or not”. Local speculation points to militant groups in South Korea that have a history of sending propaganda and dollars to the north, usually by balloon, but also sometimes using small, hard-to-detect drones.

Since May, North Korea has sent thousands of balloons loaded with rubbish towards the south, prompting Seoul to resume its propaganda broadcasts by loudspeaker along the border and to suspend an agreement concluded in 2018 with the aim of preventing military clashes.

At the end of 2022, five North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace, the first such incident in five years, paralyzing air traffic at Seoul International Airport. The South Korean army launched fighter jets, which failed to shoot down any drones. In July, Seoul announced the deployment by the end of the year of laser systems capable of melting drones in mid-flight.

After Monday’s senior officials’ meeting in Pyongyang, “Attention is focused on whether North Korea will respond by sending drones south or take strong action if drones infiltrate its territory again”explains Cheong Seong-chang, researcher at the Sejong Institute, to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “North Korea is likely to engage in major provocations along the border if drone infiltrations are repeated”he predicted.