North Korea announced it would permanently seal its border with South Korea, cutting off all roads and railways connecting the two countries. However, it has not formally declared Seoul its main enemy at this time.
The official KCNA news agency reported that Pyongyang plans to “permanently shut off and block the southern border” and strengthen defense structures in the area.
The North’s military described this as a “self-defensive measure” aimed at protecting its security amid increasing hostility from the South.
This announcement coincided with the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly meeting, where significant decisions were expected, including a potential constitutional change to label South Korea as its “invariable principal enemy.”
Earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared South Korea the “No. 1 enemy” and stated that Pyongyang would no longer pursue reconciliation or reunification.
In response, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that any attempt by the North to alter the status quo on the border would be met with severe repercussions. They stated that the North’s latest decision reflects the insecurity of the “failed Kim Jong-un regime” and would only lead to further isolation for the North.
Reports indicated that since April, North Korea has been strengthening its border defenses by placing anti-tank barriers and reinforcing roads, likely to enhance security and prevent defections. South Korea’s Unification Ministry also reported that the North had been dismantling connections on its side of the cross-border railways and laying mines.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been escalating in recent years, exacerbated by North Korea’s ongoing weapons tests and increased military exercises by South Korea in collaboration with the U.S.
Earlier this year, tensions peaked when North Korea retaliated for South Korea sending propaganda balloons across the border by dropping thousands of balloons filled with trash into the South.
