Seoul, Oct 15 (EFE).- North Korea destroyed several sections of roads connecting its territory with the South on Tuesday, the South Korean military said.
“The North Korean military conducted detonations, assumed to be aimed at cutting off the Gyeongui and Donghae roads, at around noon and is carrying out additional activities using heavy equipment,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
“The military is closely monitoring the North Korean military’s activities and maintains a firm readiness posture amid strengthened surveillance under South Korea-US cooperation,” it added, local news agency Yonhap reported.
The JCS said that the military responded to the detonations by firing shots south of the Military Demarcation Line, the land border between the two Koreas,
Last week, North Korea announced that it would cut off all roads and railways connected to the South and build “solid defensive fortifications” in these areas in response to the military maneuvers of the neighboring country and the United States.
The North’s decision coincided with the conclusion of an important parliamentary session in which it unanimously decided to amend and supplement parts of its constitution to remove references to reunification with the South and redefine national borders, as ordered by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
Pyongyang’s move comes amid heightened tensions in the peninsula following accusations by North Korea that the South had sent drones loaded with propaganda into its territory and threats to respond with artillery fire if similar incidents re-occurred.
The Gyeongui road and rail line connects the South Korean border city of Paju in the west with the North Korean city of Kaesong.
The Donghae line, meanwhile, crosses the demarcation line between North and South on the east coast.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened a meeting on Monday with top national security officials to discuss the South Korean drones detected by Pyongyang in its airspace.
The meeting was held in Pyongyang and was attended by the new Minister of National Defense, Noh Kwang-chol, the Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), Ri Yong-gil, and Cho Chun-ryong, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, state news agency KCNA reported.
Also in attendance were Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the KPA and Director of the Reconnaissance General Office – in charge of military intelligence operations -, Ri Chang-ho, and Minister of State Security – in charge of the North Korean secret police -, Ri Chang-dae, as well as commanders of military units, including artillery and electronic warfare.
Kim listened to a series of reports, including a military response plan and intelligence and weapons reports, and “evaluated” the data.
He “set forth the direction of the immediate military activities, and clarified the important tasks to be maintained in the operation of the war deterrent and the exercise of the right to self-defense to safeguard the sovereignty and security interests of the country,” KCNA said.
The news of the meeting comes hours after the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, published a statement directly accusing the South Korean military of sending drones over the North’s capital.
“We clearly know that the main culprits of the Pyongyang drone incident are the ROK (South Korea’s official name) military scum,” she said.
However, the South Korean military has denied its involvement in these actions after North Korea claimed on Oct. 11 that the South had sent drones with anti-regime propaganda leaflets that flew over Pyongyang at least three times in the last week.
It is believed that behind these incidents may be activist groups that regularly send balloons with propaganda to the North, to which Pyongyang has responded by sending more than 5,000 balloons filled with garbage to the South since May.
The activist groups have said that on occasions they have also managed to send drones carrying leaflets to the North. EFE
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