SEOUL, OCT 15 – North Korea today destroyed part of the road connecting the country with South Korea, Seoul’s military said, adding that they had carried out a counter-fire operation in response.
Pyongyang’s military last week vowed to permanently close its southern border after spending months preparing bombs and building anti-tank barriers after leader Kim Jong Un declared the South his country’s main enemy.
North Korea also accused Seoul of using drones to drop anti-regime propaganda leaflets in the capital Pyongyang, where Kim held a security meeting to order plans for immediate military action in response, state media reported today.
“North Korea has blown up sections of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today, referring to the inter-Korean infrastructure that once connected the two countries.
“There were no injuries to our troops, and our forces counterattacked in the southern area of the MDL,” he added.
The road has long been closed, but destroying it sends a clear message that Kim is not ready to negotiate with South Korea, experts say.
“This is a practical military move related to the hostile dual-state system that North Korea often calls,” President of the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul, Yang Moo-jin told AFP.
North Korea may also want to build more physical barriers along the border, Yang said, adding that the destruction of roads could be preparatory work for the wall. – AFP
