Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—

North Korea blew up parts of two main roads connecting the southern part of the peninsula on Tuesday, South Korean authorities said, after Pyongyang warned it would take steps to completely cut off its territory from the South.

Parts of the Gyeongui Line on the west coast and the Donghae Line on the east coast, two important road and rail links connecting the north and south, were closed at around 12 p.m. Korean time, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). destroyed by explosives).

In practice, the destruction of travel routes makes little difference – the two Koreas remain separated by one of the world's most heavily fortified borders and the roads have been unused for years. But its symbolism comes at a time of particularly heated rhetoric between the two Korean leaders.

Video shared by South Korea's defense ministry showed multiple explosions on roads on the northern side of the military demarcation line that separates two Koreas. According to the video, heavy machinery, including trucks and excavators, was then used on at least one of the roads, which was partially blocked by a black barrier. The JCS said the North was carrying out “additional work using heavy equipment” at the scene, but did not provide further details.

In response to the explosions, the South Korean military fired artillery within the area south of the military demarcation line and is closely monitoring the movements of the North Korean military, “maintaining a full readiness posture in cooperation with the United States,” the JCS said.

On Monday, South Korea said it had detected signs that North Korea was preparing to demolish roads connecting the two countries and warned that the explosions could be imminent. The Defense Ministry said its military had taken countermeasures, but gave no details.

A JCS spokesman, Lee Sung-joon, said the South Korean military had discovered people working behind barriers on the roads on the northern side of the border.

The explosions came just days after North Korea accused South Korea of ​​flying propaganda drones over its capital Pyongyang and threatened “retaliation.” This was the latest exchange of blows after Pyongyang sent balloons laden with rubbish to the south for months.

Last week, the North Korean army warned that it would take the “significant military step” of completely cutting off its territory from South Korea after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this year abandoned a long-standing policy of seeking peaceful reunification with the South.

North and South Korea have been separated by an armistice agreement since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Technically the two sides are still at war, but both governments had long aspired to the goal of one day reunification.

In January, Kim said North Korea would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, describing inter-Korean relations as “a relationship between two hostile countries and two belligerents at war,” KCNA reported at the time.

In a statement carried by state news agency KCNA on October 9, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) said remaining roads and railways connecting to the south would be completely cut, blocking access along the border.

“The acute military situation on the Korean Peninsula requires the DPRK armed forces to take more decisive and stronger measures to more credibly defend national security,” he said in the KCNA statement, which referred to North Korea by the initials of its official name , the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the measures were in response to recent “war exercises” in South Korea and visits to what it said were strategic U.S. nuclear facilities in the region. Last year, a U.S. aircraft carrier, amphibious assault ships, long-range bombers and submarines visited South Korea, drawing angry rebukes from Pyongyang.

Since January, Pyongyang has strengthened its border defenses, laid landmines, set up tank traps and removed railway infrastructure, according to the South Korean military.

North and South Korean leaders have also increased the use of fiery rhetoric.

Earlier this month, Kim threatened to destroy South Korea with nuclear weapons in the event of an attack after the South Korean president warned that North Korea would “threaten to end its regime if it used nuclear weapons.”

The comments came as North Korea appears to have stepped up its nuclear production efforts and strengthened ties with Russia, adding to widespread concerns in the West about the isolated country's future development.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said North Korea's attempt to cut off its territory from the South could be a way for Kim to “shift blame for his economic failures and his costly buildup of missiles and nuclear weapons.” legitimize”. ” by exaggerating external threats.

“Kim Jong Un wants domestic and international audiences to believe he is acting out of military strength, but he may actually be motivated by political weakness,” he said. “North Korea’s threats, both real and rhetorical, reflect the regime’s survival strategy of a hereditary dictatorship.”