SEOUL: North Korea has demolished parts of the roads connecting it to South Korea, a move seen by experts as a symbolic gesture to reinforce its stance against the South and sever all ties of inter-Korean cooperation. This action follows recent threats by North Korea to eliminate all physical connections with South Korea, including both roadways and railways, and construct military defense positions along the border.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean military reported that North Korea destroyed sections of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the inter-Korean border around noon on Tuesday. The demolition comes shortly after North Korea’s military committed to severing these routes and after the August disconnection of the Gyeongui and Donghae railways, both of which had symbolized potential reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas since their connection was agreed upon in 2000.
The Gyeongui line, which once connected the South’s western border city of Paju to the North’s Kaes
ong, and the Donghae line along the east coast, were part of a broader initiative to restore and modernize inter-Korean transit routes. These efforts were revitalized in 2018 amid a warming of relations, leading to a construction commencement ceremony. However, the initiative faltered following the 2019 Hanoi summit between Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.
Further complicating the relationship, in a year-end party meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un defined South Korea as an “invariable principal enemy” and called for constitutional amendments to reflect this stance, diverging sharply from the Basic Agreement of 1991 which recognized inter-Korean relations as part of a reunification process.
The demolition of these roads not only marks a significant escalation in North Korea’s withdrawal from joint projects but also represents a clear violation of previous inter-Korean agreements according to South Korea’s unification ministry. The ministry has condemn
ed the action as “very abnormal” and a repeat of North Korea’s “regressive acts,” referencing the 2020 demolition of a joint liaison office in Kaesong.
The financial implications are also significant. The South Korean government, which had financed the connection projects with loans amounting to $133 million, is considering legal action against North Korea for the damages incurred by these recent demolitions, as North Korea still holds the responsibility for repaying these debts.