North Korea blows up sections of roads connecting it to the South

A television channel announces that North Korea blew up sections of inter-Korean roads at Seoul Station, South Korea, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP New episode of rising tensions between the North and South Korea: the North Korean army destroyed sections of roads formerly used for cross-border trade with South Korea with explosives on Tuesday October 15, according to Seoul. “North Korea blew up parts of roads in Gyeongui and Donghae, north of the military demarcation line,” said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, using the official name of the inter-Korean border. In response, South Korean forces carried out “response fire” on their own territory, he added, without elaborating. The North Korean army warned on October 9 that it would “permanently” cut the highly symbolic road and rail routes connecting the two countries, and build “strong defensive structures” along the border. In practice, the border between the two Koreas is already completely closed. Since the end of the war in 1953, the two inter-Korean highways and railway lines have only been reopened during brief periods of relaxation. In June 2020, North Korea had already dynamited an Inter-Korean Liaison Office opened in 2018, while relations between Seoul and Pyongyang were experiencing one of these temporary improvements, in Kaesong, a few kilometers north of the border. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers North Korea raises the nuclear threat as the American presidential election approaches Add to your selections Toughening of Kim Jong-un’s policy Fearing an increase in tensions on the Korean peninsula, Chinese diplomacy declared Tuesday monitor developments in the situation. “Tensions on the peninsula go against the common interests of all parties, and the top priority is to avoid further escalation,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Ministry of Affairs, at a press briefing. foreign countries, assuring that Beijing “remains determined to promote the maintenance of peace and stability on the peninsula as well as a political settlement of the problems”. The destruction of these unused roads is a new illustration of the hardening of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s policy towards South Korea, which he has designated as “the main enemy” of his country. In January, Mr. Kim also ordered the dissolution of all institutions responsible for relations with Seoul and Korean reunification plans and threatened to go to war for any violation of his territory “even by 0.001 millimeter”. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers For North Korea, the South Koreans are no longer “compatriots” but “enemies” Add to your selections Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated considerably since Seoul came to power in 2022 of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, supporter of a firm policy towards the North and a strengthening of the military alliance with the United States and Japan. The three allies regularly conduct joint military exercises that Pyongyang views as dress rehearsals for an invasion of the North. According to North Korean state media, Kim Jong-un chaired a meeting of the country’s top military officials on Monday and outlined the lines for “immediate military action.” This meeting took place as the North Korean regime complains about several drone flights which, according to it, have dropped propaganda leaflets on the capital full of “inflammatory rumors and nonsense” and accuses Seoul of being responsible. . Pyongyang warned on Sunday that one more drone would be considered “a declaration of war”. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In North Korea, a dangerous repositioning between nuclear spiral and alliance with Russia Add to your selections drone infiltrations The South Korean Minister of Defense, Kim Yong-hyun, denied any involvement, before an update to the point coming from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff which declared “it cannot confirm whether the North Korean allegations were true or not”. Local speculation points to militant groups in South Korea that have a history of sending propaganda and dollars to the north, usually by balloon, but also sometimes using small, hard-to-detect drones. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application Since May, North Korea has sent thousands of balloons loaded with rubbish towards the south, which has prompted Seoul to resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border and to suspend a deal reached in 2018 aimed at preventing military skirmishes. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Between the two Koreas, the balloon war is relaunched Add to your selections At the end of 2022, five North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace, the first incident of this type in five years, paralyzing the air traffic at Seoul International Airport. The South Korean army launched fighter jets, which failed to shoot down any drones. In July, Seoul announced the deployment by the end of the year of laser systems capable of melting drones in mid-flight. After Monday’s senior officials’ meeting in Pyongyang, “attention is shifting to whether North Korea will respond by sending drones south or take strong action if drones infiltrate again on its territory,” explains Cheong Seong-chang, researcher at the Sejong Institute, to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “North Korea is likely to engage in major provocations along the border if drone infiltrations are repeated,” he predicted. Le Monde Reuse this content



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