North Korea Targets South Korean Property: Power Towers and Golf Clubhouses Destroyed

Military sources have confirmed the collapse of several transmission towers that South Korea constructed initially to power the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea. The towers’ failure followed North Korea’s dismantling of the power lines in late January, which compromised their structural integrity. Intelligence suggests that North Korea may continue to dismantle the remaining power lines and towers.

As of Tuesday, military officials reported that four out of the 15 transmission towers in North Korean territory had collapsed. This followed North Korean troops’ removal of power lines starting on November 24.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) installed 48 transmission towers along a 16-kilometer stretch in January 2007, 15 of which were in North Korea. These steel lattice towers were spaced several hundred meters apart and ran from the Gyeongui Line to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which North Korea demolished on October 15. The towers were part of a system designed to transmit electricity from the Munsan substation in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to the Peace Substation in Kaesong, which then supplied power to the industrial complex.

The power supply to the Kaesong complex was cut off in February 2016 following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test that year. Power transmission briefly resumed in 2018 with the opening of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong but was halted again in June 2020 when North Korea destroyed the liaison office.

Since the collapse of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February 2019, North Korea has accelerated the dismantling of South Korean assets. Recent intelligence indicates that even South Korean-developed infrastructure, such as the golf course clubhouse built by the hospitality firm Ananti in the Mount Kumgang tourist area, is being torn down.

Current assessments suggest that most South Korean facilities within the Mount Kumgang tourist zone have been dismantled, with a few exceptions, including the family reunion center built by the South Korean government to facilitate regular reunions for families separated by the Korean War.

A spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Unification said, “We will hold North Korea accountable for these violations of South Korean government and business property rights, even if the process takes time.”