N. Korea pulls railway sleepers on Donghae Line

It has been confirmed that North Korea has recently begun dismantling the 'Donghae Line' railway sleepers leading to Mt. Kumgang. This railway was initially connected following the North-South Joint Declaration on June 15, 2000, and the actual tracks were laid in 2006 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. In 2007, a test run was conducted from North Korea's Kumgangsan Station to Jejin Station, the northernmost station in South Korea. North Korea, which had previously implemented blockade measures such as planting mines on the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line land routes, now appears to be demolishing the railway entirely, signaling its intention to sever inter-Korean relations. North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un declared the severance of inter-Korean relations at the end of last year. The South Korean government believes that North Korea may soon demolish the 'Gyeongui Line' railway passing through the Kaesong Industrial Complex and officially announce this externally.

“There is a trend in North Korea to remove sleepers from the northern section of the Donghae Line,” a high-ranking government source stated on Tuesday. Sleepers are installed beneath the track regularly to support the rail and distribute the railway load. The government interprets this move to dismantle key railway materials as a symbolic measure to ensure railway operations will no longer be connecting North and South Korea. The National Intelligence Service also confirmed, “There has been recent demolition of some tracks on the Donghae Line, so we are monitoring related trends.”

Meanwhile, the South Korean government approved a plan to suspend the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement at a Cabinet meeting on this day, which President Yoon Suk Yeol subsequently approved. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the September 19 Agreement was officially suspended. In his opening speech at the Korea-Africa Summit, President Yoon remarked, “The security situation on the Korean Peninsula is very serious right now,” criticizing North Korea for “carrying out extremely unreasonable provocations, such as sending balloons filled with sewage into our country repeatedly in recent days.”


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com