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The country’s military previously warned it would disconnect the two parts of the peninsula in response to Seoul allegedly flying drones over Pyongyang
North Korea has blown up sections of roads leading to South Korea, effectively disconnecting the two countries, according to the military in Seoul.
Explosives were detonated on the northern side of the border on Monday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
“North Korea has detonated parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line at around noon,” the statement read. The two roads had not been in active use since August and the blasts did not cause any damage on Seoul’s side of the border, the JCS said. The South has, however, ramped up surveillance and readiness after the incidents.
North Korean troops also reportedly attempted to plant explosives on the road along the South Korean side of the demarcation line, prompting Seoul’s military to fire warning shots.
North Korea blows up roads linking it with South Korea.
In response, south Korea's military conducted counter-fire in areas south of the MDL.
Experts say, roads have long been unused but destroying them sends clear message Pyongyang does not want to negotiate with Seoul. pic.twitter.com/8Q1M2JtSdr
— Current Report (@Currentreport1) October 15, 2024
The move by the North came in response to Seoul allegedly flying drones over its capital, Pyongyang. North Korea claimed Friday that the South had sent drones dropping propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month alone. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday condemned the drone flights as the “enemy’s serious provocation” and ordered “immediate military action.” Seoul has neither confirmed nor denied the drone flights, but warned that Pyongyang will see the “end of its regime” if it harms South Koreans.
Pyongyang was also angered by joint US-South Korean military exercises several weeks ago, which the North Korean Foreign Ministry described as “provocative war drills for aggression.” The North Korean People’s Army (KPA) has since been fortifying its side of the border with frontline artillery, army units, landmines and barriers, and pledged last week to “completely” cut off inter-Korean roads and railways to “separate” the two parts of the peninsula.
READ MORE: North Korea warns artillery ready to ‘open fire’ on South
The two Koreas have technically been at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not yielding a peace treaty. The neighbors saw a brief thaw under former liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which ended when conservative Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president in 2022. Last year, Pyongyang redefined the South as a “hostile” state.