North Korean regime demolishes roads connecting it to South Korea
It is an escalation in the conflict that comes after the complete closure of the 38th parallel. The Seoul government has responded with several artillery maneuvers on its side of the border.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un oversees military maneuvers.
Days after sealing its border, North Korea blew up sections of roads connecting it to the South, as reported by South Korean military authorities, who also noted artillery fire conducted on its side of the 38th parallel in response.
"North Korea detonated parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line" that separates the two countries, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement picked up by AFP.
Roads and railroads between the two Koreas have been closed for years, but their destruction sends a clear message that leader Kim Jong Un is unwilling to negotiate with the South, experts said.
Following the "explosive (North Korean) operation aimed at blocking the link roads," the South Korean military "conducted return fire in areas from south of the Military Demarcation Line," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Kim declared South Korea this year as his country's "main enemy," and has since laid land mines, installed anti-tank barriers and planted missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the fortified border area.
Last week, North Korea accused Seoul of using drones to drop propaganda leaflets on the capital Pyongyang and, in response, vowed to permanently seal its southern border.
Phase of escalating tensions
Prior to this, it mobilized new military troops to the region, including artillery. Something that was responded to by Seoul, which also reorganized its border forces to increase its presence on the border.
Prior to this, the South Korean government, supported by the inquiries of several media, accused Piongyang of sending soldiers to fight for Russia on the Ukrainian front.
Kim held a security meeting on Monday to formulate a plan for "immediate military action," official media reported Tuesday.
At that meeting, officials receiveda report on the "serious provocations by the enemy," according to the official KCNA news agency. It added that Kim "expressed a firm political and military stance."
The destruction of roads "is a practical military measure" on the part of the North, which could seek to erect more physical barriers along the border, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
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In his view, the destruction of roads could be the "groundwork for the construction of those walls."
The South Korean military initially denied having sent drones into the neighboring country, but later declined to address the issue, even when Pyongyang directly accused them.
Activists on the South Korean sideof the border have for years sent propaganda-laden balloons to the North, generating outrage from Pyongyang.
North Korea has sent drones to the South in the past. In 2022, five Pyongyang drones crossed the border, prompting the South Korean military to fire warning shots and mobilize fighter jets.
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