SEOUL: North Korea has constructed 11-meter-high earthen mounds to fully obstruct inter-Korean roads that it destroyed last month, as reported by South Korea’s military on Monday. This move marks a continued effort by Pyongyang to sever ties with South Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, around 300 to 400 personnel have been deployed to erect these mounds north of the sections of the western Gyeongui Line and the eastern Donghae Line, which were previously demolished by the North. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed the construction of anti-tank concrete trenches on the southern side of these mounds, running across the remains of the roads.
The JCS indicated that the construction of these barriers was completed by Friday, following the demolition of the roads in mid-October. This demolition occurred on October 15, just days after North Korea’s military pledged to sever all roads and railways linked to South Korea and to construct front-line defense structures.
The JCS expressed the belief that th
ese mounds lack military utility and are primarily symbolic. “For North Korea’s military, these are not suitable barriers during wartime,” a JCS official stated anonymously. “It appears to be just for show to mark it as their territory.”
The trench on the Donghae Line measures 160 meters in length and is five meters deep, while the one on the Gyeongui Line is similar in length but is three meters deep. The earthen mound on the Gyeongui Line spans approximately 120 meters across and extends 50 meters from front to back. North Korean personnel have also planted trees on these mounds and were observed planting the country’s flag on the Donghae Line hill on Friday for photographic documentation. However, no further military activity has been detected since.
Historically, the Gyeongui Line connected South Korea’s western border city of Paju with North Korea’s Kaesong, while the Donghae Line ran along the east coast. North Korea has been systematically erasing signs of inter-Korean unification following its leade
r’s characterization of the relationship as one between “two states hostile to each other” at a year-end party meeting last year.
Prior to the explosions last month, North Korea had removed street lamps, installed mines, and deployed troops to build anti-tank barriers on its side of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads within the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.