NKorea to Destroy Parts of Joint Roads 10/14 06:12

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea said Monday it has detected signs 
that North Korea is preparing to destroy the northern parts of inter-Korean 
roads no longer in use, as the rivals are embroiled in soaring tensions over 
North Korea's claim that South Korea flew drones over its territory.

   Destroying the roads would be in line with leader Kim Jong Un's push to cut 
off ties with South Korea, formally cement it as his country's principal enemy 
and abandon the North's decades-long objective to seek a peaceful Korean 
unification.

   In a highly derisive rhetoric, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo 
Jong, called the South Korean military "dregs" and "mongrels tamed by Yankees." 
She said Monday that "the master of those dogs," an apparent reference to the 
U.S., must be held accountable for the alleged drone flights as well. South 
Korea and the U.S. had no immediate responses.

   Earlier Monday, South Korea's military said that it was observing various 
activities in North Korea that appeared to be preparations for demolishing the 
roads, such as installing screens.

   "They have installed screens on the roads and are working behind those 
screens, preparing to blow up the roads," Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South 
Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a briefing. He said the demolitions could 
be carried out as early as Monday.

   Lee said that the South Korean military believes that North Korea may carry 
out other provocations like a space rocket launch, which the U.N. views as a 
disguised test of long-range missile technology.

   It's not clear how much parts of the roads North Korea would destroy.

   During the previous era of inter-Korean detente in the 2000s, the two Koreas 
reconnected two road routes and two rail tracks across their heavily fortified 
border. But their operations later were suspended one by one as the Koreas 
wrangled over North Korea's nuclear program and other issues.

   Last week, North Korea said it would permanently block its border with South 
Korea and build front-line defense structures to cope with "confrontational 
hysteria" by South Korean and U.S. forces. South Korean officials said North 
Korea had already been adding anti-tank barriers and laying mines along the 
border since earlier this year. They said North Korea has also planted mines 
and removed lamps along its sections of the inter-Korean roads and taken out 
ties on the northern side of the railways.

   North Korea has accused South Korea of launching drones to drop propaganda 
leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month and threatened to respond with 
force if it happened again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent 
drones but warned it would sternly punish North Korea if the safety of its 
citizens is threatened.

   In a statement Sunday, the North's Defense Ministry said that the military 
had ordered artillery and other army units near the border with South Korea to 
"get fully ready to open fire." The ministry said that the entire South Korean 
territory "might turn into piles of ashes" following the North's powerful 
attack.

   North Korea often releases warlike rhetoric when animosities with its rivals 
increase. Experts say it's highly unlikely for North Korea to launch 
full-scale, preemptive attacks as it military is outmatched by the combined 
U.S. and South Korean forces.

   Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson of South Korea's Unification Ministry, said 
Monday that North Korea's accusation over drone flights was likely aimed at 
creating tensions to reinforce its internal unity while stoking instability in 
South Korea. Koo said North Korea cannot win what it wants from South Korea 
with threats and provocations.

   Some observers say anti-Pyongyang activists in South Korea might have sent 
drones this month, but North Korea argues the South Korean government cannot 
escape responsibility.

   In 2022, South Korea sent surveillance drones across the border into North 
Korea after it accused North Korea of flying drones into South Korea for the 
first time in five years.

   Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with 
North Korea continuing a run of provocative missile tests and South Korea and 
the U.S. expanding their military drills. Observers say North Korea could 
perform major weapons tests ahead of next month's U.S. presidential election to 
increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the Americans.

   In January, Kim Jong Un ordered the revision of North Korea's constitution 
to eliminate the goal of a peaceful Korean unification, formally designate 
South Korea as the country's "invariable principal enemy" and define the 
North's sovereign, territorial sphere.

   Kim's order stunned many North Korea watchers because it was seen as 
breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of peacefully 
achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Experts say Kim likely aims to 
diminish South Korea's voice in the regional nuclear standoff and seek direct 
dealings with the U.S. They say Kim also likely hopes to diminish South Korean 
cultural influence and bolster his rule at home.