North Korea will cut road and rail access to South Korea from Wednesday in a bid to “completely separate” the two countries.
Its military said the North would “permanently close and block the southern border” and fortify areas on its side.
The Korean People’s Army (KPA) described the move as “a self-defense measure to inhibit war,” saying it was in response to military exercises in South Korea and the frequent presence of the American nuclear assets in the region.
It marks an escalation of hostilities at a time when tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years.
“The acute military situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula requires the armed forces of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) to take more resolute and stronger measures to more creditably defend national security,” the KPA said in a published report. by state media KCNA.
The statement is a largely symbolic step by Pyongyang. Roads and railways leading from North to South Korea are rarely used, and have been gradually dismantled by North Korean authorities over the past year.
It also comes amid a broader push by Pyongyang to change the way it ties with the South, and follows a series of inflammatory incidents that have hurt relations between the two countries.
Those incidents have ranged from missile tests to hundreds of garbage balloons sent over North Korea’s southern border.
In particular, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced in early 2023 that he was no longer pushing for reunification with the South, raising concerns that war could resume on the Korean peninsula.
“I think it is necessary to revise some contents of the DPRK Constitution,” Kim said at a meeting of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) in January.
“In my view, it is necessary to remove such expressions in the constitution as” half of the north “and “independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity”, he added, suggesting that the constitution should be reviewed “at the next session”.
The next session was held this week, and concluded on Tuesday. However, while many observers expected Pyongyang to ratify Kim’s previous comments and make constitutional amendments to unification and border policies, no such changes have been made public.
An analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification suggested that Pyongyang might wait for the outcome of the US elections before making any concrete decisions.
Officials may “consider adjusting the extent of constitutional revisions to align with the direction of the new (US) administration,” Hong Min told AFP news agency.
It is not clear whether North Korea’s decision to cut all roads and railways linking them to the South was the result of discussions during the SPA session.
