Pyongyang: North Korea has detonated roads connecting South Korea following its irrational plan to completely separate the two countries. Once seen as symbols of inter-Korean cooperation, the destruction of the roads is seen as a move to cement its animosity toward the South, which it considers as a “primary foe.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said to Yonhap News Agency that, “The North Korean military conducted detonations, assumed to be aimed at cutting off the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, at around noon and is carrying out additional activities using heavy equipment.”
The JCS also added that the South’s military did not suffer any damage and that it responded by firing shots south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) as a means of self-defense and as a warning against acts that likely violate the Armistice Agreement.
The two Koreas are connected by roads and railways along the Gyeongui Line, which connects the South’s western border city of Paju to the North’s Kaesong, and the Donghae Line along the east coast.
Since its leader, Kim Jong-un, declared the two Koreas to be “two hostile states” late last year, North Korea escalated tensions between the Koreas by nullifying any signs of unification, with the country taking steps to dismantle inter-Korean land routes.
Recently, the North has taken down street lights, planted mines along its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, and sent troops to strengthen barbed wire and erect what appear to be anti-tank barriers within the part of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.
This also follows North Korea’s recent allegation on South Korea flying drones into its airspace and ordering a potential attack.
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