All news
Why North Korea Declared South Korea an Enemy and Blew Up Border Roads
North Korea has officially recognized South Korea as an enemy country. The North has previously blown up roads connecting the two countries. What is the reason for the escalation on the border and how dangerous is it — in the RBC article
What's happening on the border between North and South Korea?
On October 17, North Korea's main news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), officially confirmed that road and rail links with South Korea had been completely "physically" cut off two days earlier. On Tuesday, the military reported an explosion on a highway. Parts of Gyeonggi-do and Tonghaero, north of the ceasefire line, were reportedly destroyed. The road on the other side was undamaged, but South Korean troops fired warning shots after the explosion.
On October 9, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army vowed to destroy South Korea's roads and railways, "permanently block and seal" the South Korean border, and empty the South Korean border by building new fortifications along the South Korean border fortress. The Associated Press notes that the destroyed highway was a symbol of the two countries' movement toward peaceful unification. Road and rail links, severed during the 1950-53 Korean War, were restored in the 2000s, largely with South Korean funds.
What is new in the KCNA report of October 17 is the rationale for the move. "This is an inevitable and legitimate measure based on the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which defines the Republic of Korea as an absolutely hostile country, as well as the grave security situation that reaches the threshold of an unpredictable war due to serious military power. - Political provocation by hostile forces," the statement said (quoted from the Russian version).
North Korea has officially confirmed for the first time that it has properly revised its Basic Law. Previously, the Basic Law did not include a clause designating the Republic of Korea as an enemy country. However, in January, Kim Jong-un said the constitution should enshrine South Korea as the “always main enemy” and remove a clause seeking peaceful unification between North and South Korea. Following this, North Korea’s state broadcaster stopped showing the entire Korean Peninsula in its weather forecasts, and the “unification monument” to North and South Korea in Pyongyang was also torn down. Last week, the National Assembly met to discuss amendments to North Korea’s Basic Law, but no decisions were announced.
The Unification Ministry (which oversees relations with North Korea) denounced the amendment as an “anti-unification and anti-national act.” An official said: “The government will resolutely respond to any provocation from North Korea and continue to strive to achieve peaceful unification in accordance with the basic principles of liberal democracy.”
On October 11, North Korean authorities said they had intercepted South Korean drones distributing propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times since the beginning of the month, on October 3, 9 and 10. The North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The leaflets are full of malicious lies and harsh words that insult the power of the state and the dignity of the Republic and openly slander the socialist system.” Offensive weapons. “There is no country in the world that would not react to such an incident when its airspace is violated and a drone of a hostile country flies over its capital,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Two days later, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army issued an order to increase the combat readiness of artillery stationed in the South Korean border region so that it could immediately retaliate the next time South Korean drones appeared in the Korean Peninsula. Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of the North Korean leader and vice chairwoman of the Workers' Party Central Committee, described South Korea's actions as "confrontational anger" aimed at inciting war. "Trash should be thrown in the trash can," she said.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has denied any involvement in the drone launch and vowed to investigate whether private groups, similar to those that have previously launched propaganda balloons, were behind the launches. The previous government, which had pushed for normalization of diplomatic relations with North Korea, banned the practice, but after conservatives came to power, the Supreme Court ruled it a violation of free speech, and since late 2023, South Korean activists have resumed distributing leaflets in North Korea, mostly using aircraft.
In late May 2024, North Korean authorities decided to respond in kind. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, over the next few months, about 6,000 balloons were released, each with plastic bags containing manure, cigarette butts, scraps of fabric, used batteries, and diapers attached. They all landed near Seoul and the border area. Some were found to contain GPS tracking devices and even jeans (which are illegal in North Korea).
Lee Sang-soo, a researcher at the European Center for North Korean Studies, said Kim Jong-un is escalating tensions with South Korea to strengthen his domestic power, undermine residents' hopes for reconciliation, and eliminate South Korean sources of influence. In an interview with RBC at the University of Vienna, the expert noted that North Korea hopes to strengthen its geopolitical position and demonstrate its nuclear deterrence potential while maintaining a balance on the brink of war.
Prime Minister Lee acknowledged that further escalation would occur if evidence emerged linking the South Korean government to the drone launch. From there, much would depend on South Korea’s actions and whether it heeds North Korea’s warnings about the consequences of launching more drones. “If the Korean government had sent drones, I don’t think they would do it again because of the risk of conflict. “But if a Korean activist had done it, the situation could be more dangerous because it would be harder for the Korean government to control them.”
According to the signatories, the new UN resolution will have a significant impact on the economic situation in North Korea. First of all, this concerns the ban on the export of gas and oil from other countries to North Korea. Accordingly, according to the US Permanent Mission to the UN, after the sanctions are fully implemented, hydrocarbon imports to North Korea will fall by 30 percent. According to Reuters, North Korea imports about 4.5 million barrels from abroad (mainly from China). Oil products and 4 million barrels. Crude oil per year. Exports of oil products from China to North Korea in May-July 2017 have already decreased by 75% compared to the same period in 2016. In August 2017, Chinese authorities said that gasoline supplies to North Korea had decreased by 97%. At the same time, the Washington Post claims that the reduction in supplies from China has led to an increase in supplies from Russia, especially from the oil company HNK. The second provision of the new sanctions package prohibits the export of North Korean textiles to other countries. According to media reports, North Korea earned $752 million from this in 2016, which is 80% of its exports to China. This UN resolution is not the first restrictive measure against North Korea. Therefore, over the years, North Korea has already banned the arms trade, the export of natural resources (coal and iron ore trade worth about $1 billion per year) and the import of aviation fuel. Various financial sanctions have also been imposed on the country. However, media reports indicate that the North Korean leadership often manages to circumvent the ban. For example, in March 2017, CNN reported that North Korea had created a network of front companies to evade sanctions, citing an unpublished UN report. Thus, the document mentions a deal on air defense systems and missiles with satellite guidance systems, paid for in cash or gold. In August 2016, a North Korean ship was seized, a cargo of North Korean-made ammunition was found on it. A similar situation occurred in 2013, when it was revealed that a North Korean ship was transporting air defense systems from Cuba to North Korea.