SEOUL: North Korea has erected 11-meter-high earthen hills to completely obstruct inter-Korean roads that it demolished last month, South Korea’s military reported Monday, highlighting Pyongyang’s continued efforts to sever connections with the South.

According to Yonhap News Agency, around 300 to 400 personnel have been deployed to construct these mounds just north of the damaged sections of the western Gyeongui Line and the eastern Donghae Line. On the southern side of these mounds, North Korea has also built anti-tank concrete trenches that span across the remnants of the roads.

On October 15, North Korea destroyed parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the inter-Korean border, following its military’s vow to sever all roads and railways linked to the South and establish front-line defense structures. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) believe the earthen hills are symbolic rather than functional in a military context.

“For North Korea’s military, these are not suitable barriers during wartime,
” said a JCS official. “It appears to be just for show to mark it as their territory.” The ditch on the Donghae Line extends 160 meters and is five meters deep, while the trench on the Gyeongui Line is of a similar length but three meters deep.

The earthen mound on the Gyeongui Line measures about 120 meters across and 50 meters from front to back, with trees planted on the mounds along both roads, according to the official. North Korean personnel were also observed planting the country’s flag on the Donghae Line hill on Friday for photographic purposes.

Previously, the Gyeongui Line connected South Korea’s western border city of Paju to North Korea’s Kaesong, while the Donghae Line ran along the east coast. North Korea has been eradicating traces of inter-Korean unification and reconciliation since its leader redefined the relationship between the two Koreas as hostile at a party meeting last year.