N. Korea blows up roads near border with S. Korea as tensions grow

North Korea, having declared a complete severance with the South, demolished parts of the inter-Korean road connections on the Gyeongui and Donghae lines near the South Korean border on Tuesday. This latest act follows the blockade of the railroads on the same lines in August, marking the complete shutdown of overland routes between the two Koreas, except for the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom.

This is the first time North Korea has carried out such a blatant demolition targeting the South since it blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2020. A government source said, "North Korea, which has raised tensions by claiming that a South Korean drone had infiltrated Pyongyang, seems to be using this explosion to send a message that its threats will not be empty words."

According to military sources, at 11:59 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. on Monday, North Korea detonated parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The explosion destroyed about 60 to 70 meters of concrete road from a point 10 meters north of the MDL, where a 6-meter-high screen had been installed. The South Korean military released footage captured flames and debris soaring several meters into the air.

"Judging by the near-simultaneous explosions at two locations, it appears the blasts were centrally controlled,” a South Korean military official said. “Each explosion was likely set off by dozens of TNT charges planted in multiple craters."

The military added that after the explosions, North Korean crews used heavy machinery such as excavators and dump trucks to clear the debris.

Prior to the blasts, South Korean forces issued multiple warning broadcasts, and immediately after the explosions, troops at a nearby guard post (GP) fired dozens of warning shots with K6 heavy machine guns and K4 grenade launchers toward the southern side of the MDL.

"North Korea's actions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) are in violation of the armistice agreement, and significant amounts of debris from the blasts fell onto our side. Our response was in self-defense," a South Korean military official stated. Fortunately, no South Korean troops were injured as they had been evacuated to safe zones before the explosions.

As South Korean forces remain on heightened alert for potential further provocations, Pyongyang has escalated its rhetoric. On Monday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement through the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) accusing South Korean "military gangsters" of violating North Korean airspace with a hostile act of sovereignty infringement. She warned that the provocateurs would face a "severe price."


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com