North mined all roads connecting the two Koreas: JCS

North Korea

Published: 29 Apr. 2024, 17:26 Updated: 29 Apr. 2024, 19:27

North mined all roads connecting the two Koreas: JCS

North Korean and South Korean soldiers shake hands during a road construction project near the military demarcation line (MDL) in November 2018. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

North Korea has laid landmines along all roads connecting the two Koreas, according to the South Korean military on Monday.

North Korea laid mines late last year on a tactical road within the demilitarized zone (DMZ) near Arrowhead Hill in Cheorwon County, Gangwon, according to the South Korean military.

The road was constructed for a joint project to unearth the remains of South and North Korean soldiers who fell during the Korean War, in accordance with the September 2018 inter-Korean military agreement.

During the construction work, South Korean and North Korean soldiers were photographed meeting and shaking hands across the military demarcation line (MDL). North Korea has since refused to participate in joint excavations.

Last January, North Korean troops were seen planting landmines on the Gyeongui road between the South’s westernmost city of Paju in Gyeonggi and the North’s Kaesong, connected in 2004, and the Donghae road along the east coast, which opened in 2005.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, South Korean officials closed its joint liaison office in Kaesong in 2020, marking the last time the Gyeongui road was used. Since the failed 2019 Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump, the Donghae road has remained unused.

The South Korean military also detected North Korean troops removing dozens of streetlights along the two roads last month.

Such moves are interpreted as North Korea continuing its work to completely cut off physical links with the South after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared last December that relations between Seoul and Pyongyang were of “two states hostile to each other.”

“We must strictly implement step-by-step measures to completely separate all North-South connection conditions in the border area, including completely cutting off the section of the Gyeongui line, which existed as a symbol of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation to an irreparable level,” Kim said in January.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) addressed the landmines during a regular press briefing Monday, with the JCS spokesperson, Col. Lee Sung-jun, saying that the South’s military is taking “necessary” measures.

The September 2018 agreement between the two Koreas was reached during the third and final inter-Korean summit between then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Defense Ministers of North and South Korea, No Kwang-chol and Song Young-moo, signed a comprehensive military agreement calling for the removal of landmines, guard posts and weapons in the Joint Security Area.

South Korea partially suspended the 2018 accords last year in response to the North's launch of a military spy satellite. North Korea responded by effectively scrapping the agreement, saying it would "not be bound by" the accords.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]