The latest move comes after North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones carrying propaganda leaflets over the capital.
North Korea blew up the northern section of the road leading to South Korea, the South Korean military said.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a letter sent to the media on Tuesday that a portion of the road north of the Military Demarcation Line dividing North and South Korea was blown up around noon (03:00).
The military said it fired warning shots south of the ceasefire line.
South Korea’s government warned Monday that North Korea was preparing to blow up roads.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen after North Korea accused it of sending drones carrying propaganda leaflets over the North Korean capital Pyongyang.
The explosion came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened a meeting with top military officials to discuss the issue.
At the meeting, Chairman Kim defined the flight as a “serious provocation by the enemy” and proposed “immediate military action” to protect the sovereignty of the country and unspecified tasks related to the operation of “war deterrence,” the Korean Central News Agency reported on the 2nd. . .
North Korea had previously placed front-line artillery and other military units on standby to attack South Korea if drones were discovered again in North Korean airspace. South Korea refused to confirm whether it would dispatch drones, but warned that it would severely punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens was threatened.
Destroying the road is consistent with Kim Jong-un’s push to sever ties with South Korea, cement South Korea as his official main enemy and abandon North Korea’s decades-long goal of pursuing peaceful unification of the country.
In 2020, North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office, signaling the end of the period of détente.
Last November, North Korea said it would no longer be bound by the 2018 joint military agreement after South Korea suspended parts of the agreement in response to North Korea’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite.
South Korean officials said North Korea began adding anti-tank barriers and laying mines along the border earlier this year.
