South Korea's military said it fired warning shots near the heavily fortified border with North Korea after North Korea blew up part of a highly symbolic road connecting the two countries.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a message to the media on Tuesday that a section of road north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that divides the two countries was blown up around noon.
In response, Seoul's military “conducted counterattacks” in areas south of the MDL, it later added.
Since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared South Korea his “main enemy” earlier this year, North Korea has laid new mines along its already heavily fortified border, erected anti-tank barriers and nuclear weapons. Deployed missiles capable of carrying warheads.
North Korea announced last week that it would permanently close its southern border in response to military exercises in South Korea and a visit to a U.S. nuclear facility, and on Monday South Korea warned that North Korea was preparing for a road bombing. .
North Korea last week accused the South Korean government of using drones to drop anti-regime propaganda leaflets in the capital Pyongyang, and in response, Mr. Kim called a security council meeting to direct plans for “immediate military action.” state media reported on Tuesday.
Experts say destroying the roads and railways connecting the two countries, which have long been closed, would send a clear message to Mr. Kim that he is not prepared to negotiate with South Korea.
“This is a practical military measure related to the hostile dual state system that North Korea frequently refers to,” Yang Moo-jin, president of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.
Yang said North Korea may be looking to build more physical barriers along the border, adding that the explosion could be “preparatory work to build that wall.”
South Korea's military initially denied sending the drones to the North, but has since declined to comment, saying it would be considered a “declaration of war” if another drone was detected, despite North Korea's direct accusations. I warned you.
Activist groups have been sending propaganda north for years, usually by balloon, but hobbyists have also been known to fly small, less-detectable drones north.
The Korean Central News Agency said officials at Kim's meeting on Monday heard reports of “serious provocations by the enemy,” adding that Kim “expressed a tough political and military position.”
In 2022, five North Korean drones invaded South Korea, the first such incident in five years, and the South Korean military began firing warning shots and deploying fighter jets.
The jets were unable to shoot down either drone.
South Korea's government announced in July that it would deploy drone melting lasers this year, saying it would “significantly strengthen” South Korea's ability to respond to provocations.
The new laser weapon, which South Korea is calling the Star Wars Project, fires a silent, invisible beam and costs just 2,000 won ($1.45) per use, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Agency.
Inter-Korean relations are at their worst in years, with North Korea's military permanently sealing off its southern border last week by “completely cutting off roads and railways” leading to the south and building “strong defense structures.” Then he announced.
After Kim's meeting in Pyongyang, “all eyes are on whether North Korea will respond by sending drones to South Korea, or whether it will take strong action if drones invade its territory again.” said Jeong Seong-chan of Sejong Research Institute.
“If drone intrusions occur again, North Korea is likely to carry out strong provocations along the border,” Chung told AFP.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report
