North Korea blew up the Gyeongui Line and the East Sea Line connecting the North and South on Tuesday. This marks a significant difference compared to four years ago when North Korea quickly reported the demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office. This time, however, the North’s state-run media, including Rodong Sinmun and KCNA, had remained silent on the destruction as of the following day.
Despite the significance of the event, Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper, did not mention the destruction of the two roads in its issue on Wednesday. Similarly, KCNA had not reported on the explosion by 9 a.m. that day, and Korean Central Television did not include it in its regular news the previous evening.
The recent destruction of the Gyeongui and East Sea road was unexpected, especially since it occurred while North Korea was inciting anti-South sentiments by claiming that drones had infiltrated Pyongyang.
In June 2020, when North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, KCNA covered the event the same day, with Rodong Sinmun following suit the next day. The absence of immediate reports on the latest demolition is unusual, particularly given the current political climate.
Since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un defined inter-Korean relations as “two hostile states,” North Korea began work on disconnecting the Gyeongui and Donghae lines as part of breaking the link with South Korea. On October 9, just six days before the explosion, the North Korean military’s General Staff announced plans to completely sever roads and railways connected to the Republic of Korea and fortify them with robust defensive structures.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea installed a barrier approximately 10 meters north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) around Tuesday noon. It detonated explosives to sever the overland inter-Korean connection.
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