North Korea removing inter-Korean power lines in latest move to sever ties with South

Home > National > North Korea

North Korea removing inter-Korean power lines in latest move to sever ties with South

Published: 26 Nov. 2024, 17:05

SEO JI-EUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Transmission towers built by South Korea to supply electricity to the now-shuttered inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong and a barrier installed by North Korea are visible along the Gyeongui Line road in the western front demilitarized zone (DMZ) on Tuesday amid signs of North Korea preparing to dismantle some of the transmission towers linked to the complex. [YONHAP]

North Korea started dismantling power lines built initially by the South to supply electricity to the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex, Seoul confirmed Tuesday, in what appears to be Pyongyang's latest move to sever inter-Korean ties.

Military surveillance detected several North Korean soldiers working near the Gyeongui Line, north of the military demarcation line (MDL), removing transmission lines connecting power pylons, or transmission towers, since Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Ministry of Unification said. The towers themselves remain intact for now.

“The wires on the first pylon north of the MDL have been cut, and the cables on the North’s side have been retrieved," said Lee Seong-jun, spokesperson for the JCS. "It remains to be seen whether additional cables to the north will also be removed.”

A Ministry of Unification official echoed that while the towers remain untouched, North Korea could remove them in the future.

"This is part of its measures to sever physical ties with South Korea,” the ministry official added.

The power infrastructure was initially built by South Korea in 2007 to provide electricity to the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a key symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation. South's Kepco KPS installed 48 pylons over a 16-kilometer stretch, with 15 located on North Korean territory. Electricity generated at the Munsan Substation in Paju, Gyeonggi, was transmitted to the Peace Substation in Kaesong, which then supplied power to the industrial zone.

The power supply was halted in February 2016 following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test. A brief resumption occurred in 2018 while the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office in Kaesong operated, but the supply ceased entirely after North Korea demolished the office in June 2020.

Since Pyongyang declared "two hostile states" between the two Koreas in December 2022, it has taken steps to render inter-Korean infrastructure unusable. Recent actions include reclaiming land, laying mines, dismantling rails, railroad ties and streetlights, and tearing down train storage facilities along the Gyeongui and Donghae lines. In March, North Korea removed fences along the Donghae Line road, followed by the removal of streetlights on the Gyeongui Line road in April.

The Ministry of Unification condemned North Korea’s actions, labeling them as “unlawful infringements on property rights" that "must be halted immediately.”

On the possibility of taking legal action, the official said the government is "discussing" options, but it is too early to outline specific plans.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]