North Korea’s military has announced that it will cut off all roads and railways to the South, in response to Seoul’s joint military exercises with US forces.
According to a statement by the general staff of the North Korean People’s Army and shared by state media, the project to sever all transportation lines with South Korea and “completely separate” the two territories was launched on October 9.
Additionally, Pyongyang said it will “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The decision to completely shut off the border with the South, which Pyongyang has described as the “primary hostile state and invariable principal enemy,” is meant as a “self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security of the DPRK,” North Korea said.
Pyongyang’s statement added that the “resolute” measures were being taken in response to the “acute military situation” on the peninsula, pointing to the recent military exercises held by Seoul near the North Korean border as well as visits by US strategic nuclear assets to the region.
The North Korean military also noted that it had sent a telephone message to the US military in South Korea on Wednesday morning in order to prevent any “misjudgment and accidental conflict over the fortification project.”
Seoul has said it has yet to detect any construction work by the North Korean military near the border but noted that it “will not overlook” any actions by its neighbor that could “unilaterally change the status quo.”
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff has nevertheless warned that the responsibility for any situations that could result from the construction would lie with Pyongyang.
“In the event North Korea carries out a provocation, our military will overwhelmingly punish not only the source of the provocation but also the supporting and commanding forces based on a firm combined defense posture,” Seoul said.