Smoke rises after North Korea blows up sections of inter-Korean roads on its side of the border between the two Koreas, according to South Korea’s military, as seen from the South Korean side, October 15, 2024, in this screen grab from a handout video.
south korea defense ministry
North Korea has blown up part of an inter-Korean road and railway line on its side of the heavily fortified border, South Korea’s military said on Tuesday, raising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to the media that around noon, some roads and railways connecting the north to the south were bombed.
In response, the South Korean military fired warning shots south of the military demarcation line between the two countries, but the explosion did not cause any damage to the Seoul side of the border.
The explosion followed Pyongyang’s pledge last week to completely cut off roads and railways between the North and South Korea and further strengthen fortifications along the border. Seoul warned on Monday that North Korea was preparing for an explosion.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has laid mines and roadblocks along the border and carried out additional work using heavy equipment on Monday.
According to reports, South Korea has stepped up surveillance and preparations after the incident.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, and the two countries were still technically at war.
These cross-border ties are remnants of a period of rapprochement between the two countries, including a 2018 summit between the two leaders when they declared no more war and ushered in a new era of peace.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea spent approximately 180 billion won ($132 million) in taxpayer funds to rebuild North-South Korean roads.
A war of words between North and South Korea has escalated after North Korea accused its rival of flying drones over the country’s capital, Pyongyang.
North Korea said on Friday that drones had dispersed a “large number” of anti-North Korean leaflets, calling it a political and military provocation that could lead to armed conflict.
A spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to answer questions on Monday about whether South Korean troops or civilians flew the so-called drones.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a meeting of defense and security officials on Monday to discuss how to respond to “the enemy’s serious provocation that violates North Korea’s sovereignty,” KCNA reported. North Korea is the abbreviation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the official name of North Korea.
