The DPRK is reportedly building several infrastructures, including roads and walls, across the DMZ, which South Korea views as an escalatory measure.
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South Korean soldiers patrol while hikers visit the DMZ Peace Trail in the demilitarized zone in Goseong, South Korea, on June 14, 2019. (AP)
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is constructing various infrastructure in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two Koreas, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.
The construction activities are taking place north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that runs through the DMZ, a zone 250 kilometers long and approximately four kilometers wide, Yonhap reported, citing an unnamed military source.
The report comes as tensions intensify between the two governments in the Korean Peninsula, as the last incident saw South Korean troops fire warning shots after DPRK troops reportedly briefly crossed the MDL.
“Recently, the North Korean (DPRK’s) military has been erecting walls, digging the ground, and constructing roads in some areas between the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the Northern Limit Line in the DMZ,” the military source told the South Korean news agency.
So far, the South Korean military said that it was “closely tracking and monitoring the activities of the North Korean military,” stressing that “further analysis is required,” as the military does not know what is being built north of the MDL.
Moreover, South Korea said that it will not reveal its response to these actions “to ensure the safety of the personnel proceeding with an operation.”
In a similar context, South Korea has been blasting K-pop songs and news broadcasts at DPRK citizens from behind the MDL, as the DPRK’s Kim Yo Jong has threatened “new countermeasures” against Seoul’s nuisances.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff confirmed that the loudspeaker broadcasts resumed on Sunday afternoon, marking the first time such broadcasts have occurred since January 2016 when they were used after the DPRK’s fourth nuclear test.
Behind these provocations lies a much deeper division between the two governments that stems back to the 1950s Korean War, in which the United States and its allies supported the South Korean government against the DPRK’s growing influence and advance across the Korean peninsula.
Attempts to soothe ties between the two Koreas have ended in failure as the US and South Korea take a more aggressive approach against the DPRK, launching wide-scale military exercises throughout the past two years, while Seoul continues to threaten Pyongyang with military action.
Read more: DPRK on heightened war readiness amid US-South Korea drills