Seoul
North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) announced on Thursday that all roads and railways connecting to South Korea have been completely blocked, according to state media reports.
Under an order from the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) executed measures to physically sever the DPRK’s transport links to the Republic of Korea (ROK) on October 15. This action is part of a phased separation of its territory from that of South Korea.
Sources reported that sections of roads and railways, measuring 60 meters each, in Kamho-ri (Kosong County, Kangwon Province) and Tongnae-ri (Panmun District, Kaesong Municipality) were completely blocked through blasting operations conducted during the day on October 15.
A spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of National Defence stated, ‘This is an inevitable and legitimate measure taken in keeping with the requirement of the North Korean Constitution, which clearly defines South Korea as a hostile state.’ The spokesman further cited ‘serious security circumstances’ and ‘political and military provocations’ as reasons for this drastic action.
The Ministry of National Defence also indicated that North Korea would continue efforts to ‘permanently fortify the closed southern border.’ Earlier, on October 9, the KPA General Staff had announced plans to fully cut off roads and railways to South Korea due to the precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula.
