North Korea announced a significant military decision on Wednesday, stating its intention to permanently close and block the southern border with South Korea. This move was communicated to U.S. military officials to avoid any accidental clashes during the process. The statement from Pyongyang detailed plans to “cut off roads and railways” that could have served as future links between the two Koreas.
While North Korea called this a “major military step,” experts suggest this decision is part of an ongoing pattern of deteriorating inter-Korean relations. The ties between the two nations have reached their lowest point in recent years, with North Korea shutting down agencies focused on reunification and labeling South Korea as its “principal enemy.”
Observers anticipated that North Korea would nullify a significant inter-Korean agreement signed in 1991 during a parliamentary session earlier in the week. This is seen as part of leader Kim Jong Un’s strategy to formally recognize South Korea as a hostile state. However, the state media announcement regarding the appointment of a new defense chief, No Chol, who replaced Kang Nam, did not mention scrapping the 1991 agreement.
Later on Wednesday, North Korea’s army declared it would take a “substantial military step” by severing all roads and railways connected to South Korea and reinforcing its own side of the border with defensive structures. The military also confirmed that it had informed U.S. forces to prevent any “misjudgment or accidental conflict” during the border fortification project.
Although the inter-Korean border is already one of the most heavily militarized in the world, it has not entirely prevented crossings. In August, a North Korean citizen successfully crossed into South Korea, highlighting vulnerabilities in the heavily fortified zone.
In recent months, South Korea has reported North Korean efforts to strengthen border defenses by laying landmines and constructing barriers. By July, the area along the border had been turned into what Seoul described as a wasteland. In June, South Korea’s military revealed that North Korean soldiers working on border reinforcements suffered casualties from landmine explosions. Around the same time, South Korea’s intelligence agency noticed signs that North Korea was dismantling parts of the Donghae Line railway, which connects the two Koreas.
Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, commented on the situation, stating that North Korea had already been demolishing parts of the railway. He described Pyongyang’s latest statement as “official confirmation” of its intention to sever connections with the South.
North Korea has defended its actions as a “self-defensive measure” in response to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises and the presence of U.S. strategic nuclear assets in the region. The situation underscores the escalating tensions and the increasing military posturing between the two Koreas.
Also Read: Dandiya In US, Over 200 South Asians Attend The Event
