After threatening to sever all relations, North Korea blasts up roads close to its border with South Korea

Following Pyongyang’s warning that it would take action to cut off its territory from the South entirely, North Korea detonated portions of two main roadways connecting to the southern side of the peninsula on Tuesday, according to South Korean authorities.

At approximately 12 p.m. Korean local time, explosions destroyed portions of the Gyeongui line on the West coast and the Donghae line on the East coast, two important road and railway linkages connecting the North and South, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The two Koreas are still separated by one of the most strongly guarded borders in the world, and the roads were abandoned for many years, so practically speaking, nothing has changed with regard to the destruction of the travel routes. However, its meaning is at a time of particularly fiery rhetoric between the two Korean leaders.

The north side of the military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas had multiple explosions on the highways, according to footage released by the South Korean Defense Ministry. The video then shows the deployment of heavy equipment, such as trucks and excavators, to at least one of the roadways, which was partially blocked by a black barrier. The North was performing “additional works with heavy machinery” at the location, according to the JCS, but they didn’t elaborate.

The South Korean military responded to the explosions by firing artillery in the region south of the military demarcation line. The JCS stated that the South Korean military is keeping a “fully readiness posture under cooperation with the US” and is closely observing the North Korean military’s operations.