North Korea has destroyed parts of an inter-Korean road on its side of the highly fortified border between the two Koreas, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday.
Around midday, sections of the road just north of the military demarcation line were blown up. In response, South Korea heightened its surveillance and military readiness. The South had previously warned that the North was preparing for such an action.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been rising due to a war of words, with North Korea accusing the South of flying drones over its capital, Pyongyang.
Last Friday, North Korea claimed the drones dropped large amounts of anti-North propaganda leaflets, calling it a political and military provocation that could escalate into armed conflict.
On Monday, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to comment on whether the alleged drones were operated by South Korean military or civilians. That same day, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led a meeting with defense officials to discuss responses to what he described as a grave provocation violating North Korea’s sovereignty, according to reports.