South Korea's military says it fired warning shots near its heavily guarded border with North Korea after Pyongyang blew up parts of a deep-marked road linking the two countries.
At noon, parts of the road north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the countries were blown up, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement to the media on Tuesday.
In response, Seoul's military “fired back” in areas south of the MDL, it added later.
Since leader Kim Jong-un declared the South his country's “main enemy” earlier this year, the North has laid new mines, built anti-tank defenses and deployed missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons along its already heavily fortified border.
Pyongyang last week said it would permanently close its southern border in response to South Korea's military drills and visits to US nuclear assets, and on Monday Seoul warned Pyongyang was preparing to blow up roads.
Last week, North Korea also accused Seoul of using drones to drop anti-regime propaganda leaflets in the capital Pyongyang, with Kim holding a security meeting and leading a plan for “immediate military action” in response, state media reported on Tuesday.
Roads and rail lines connecting the two countries have long been closed, but destroying them sends a clear message that Kim is unwilling to negotiate with the South, experts said.
“This is a practical military operation related to the hostile dual state system that North Korea has often referred to,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
Expect more physical barriers to be erected along the northern border, Yang said, adding that the explosions could be “preparatory work for building those walls.”
Seoul's military initially denied sending the drones to the North, but later declined to comment, despite Pyongyang directly blaming it and warning it would be a “declaration of war” if another drone was detected.
Activist groups have long sent propaganda north, usually by balloon, and activists have been known to fly small, hard-to-detect drones into the north.
At Kim's meeting on Monday, officials heard reports of “serious provocations by the enemy,” KCNA said, adding that Kim had “expressed a tough political and military stance.”
In 2022, five North Korean drones crossed into the South, the first such incident in five years, prompting the South Korean military to fire warning shots and deploy fighter jets.
The jets were unable to shoot down any of the drones.
In July, Seoul said it would use drone-melting lasers this year, saying the South's ability to respond to provocations would be “significantly enhanced.”
The new laser weapons – dubbed the “StarWars Project” in the South – fire an invisible, silent beam that costs just 2,000 won ($1.45) per use, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
Relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest level in years, with the North's military last week saying it would permanently close the southern border, “completely cutting off roads and railways” connecting the South and building “stronger security structures”.
Following Kim's meeting in Pyongyang, “attention has turned to whether North Korea will respond by sending drones to the South or take drastic action if drones again intrude into its territory,” said Cheong Cheong-sang of the Sejong Institute.
“If the drone intrudes again, North Korea is likely to engage in strong provocations across the border,” Cheong told AFP.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report
