North Korea’s military said it will completely cut off roads and railways linked to South Korea starting Wednesday and reinforce areas on its side of the border, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported.
This announcement portends a further escalation in activity near the line dividing the two Koreas, something that had been rare in recent years until this year.
The South Korean military said in July that North Korea had already planted landmines, barriers and created wastelands along the heavily armed border for several months this year, although there have been incidents.
The General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency that this came in response to the war exercises conducted in South Korea, which it described as “the primary enemy country and the main constant enemy,” as well as frequent visits. US strategic nuclear assets in the region.
The South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement that the United Nations Command had been notified of the matter, but declined to provide details.
The ministry added that South Korea is in close contact and cooperation with the United Nations Command regarding North Korea’s declaration.
The US-led United Nations force is a multinational military force that oversees the affairs of the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war.
North Korea held a separate session of the Supreme People’s Assembly this week, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday, although it did not say whether it had officially changed its position on inter-Korean unification.
Tensions have increased on the Korean Peninsula this year amid a series of missile tests and Pyongyang’s efforts to change its relationship with the South.
There were widespread expectations that Parliament would remove references in the constitution to “unity” between the two Koreas, in line with comments made in a speech by leader Kim Jong Un in January.
KCNA also did not mention any change in the law to classify South Korea as a “major enemy” or similar wording, or any clarification of its borders, amid a continuing tense relationship between the two neighbors.
