North Korea raises earthen mounds to block severed inter-Korean roads

North Korea has constructed 11-meter-high earthen mounds to completely block inter-Korean roads that it destroyed last month, marking another step in Pyongyang's efforts to sever ties with the South, South Korea's military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that between 300 and 400 personnel have been deployed to create these barriers just north of the sections of the western Gyeongui Line and the eastern Donghae Line that were blown up in mid-October. In addition to the mounds, the North has built anti-tank concrete trenches across the remnants of the roads, Caliber.Az reports per Korean media.

As of November 1, the JCS confirmed that the construction of the barriers was complete. North Korea had previously destroyed parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads on October 15, shortly after announcing its intent to cut off all transportation links to the South and establish front-line defense structures.

The JCS views the mounds as primarily symbolic, lacking military utility. An anonymous JCS official commented, "For North Korea's military, these are not suitable barriers during wartime. It appears to be just for show to assert their territory."

The trench on the Donghae Line stretches 160 meters and is five meters deep, while the trench on the Gyeongui Line is similar in length but three meters deep. The earthen mound on the Gyeongui Line measures approximately 120 meters across and 50 meters deep, with trees planted on both mounds along the two roads.

Additionally, military personnel observed North Korean workers planting the national flag on the hill along the Donghae Line for photo opportunities, but no significant military activities have been detected since the barriers were erected.

The Gyeongui Line previously connected South Korea's Paju to North Korea's Kaesong, while the Donghae Line ran along the eastern coast. North Korea has been systematically erasing signs of inter-Korean unity, with its leader recently characterizing inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other." Prior to the explosions, North Korea had also removed street lamps, laid mines along the roads, and deployed troops to build anti-tank barriers within the Demilitarized Zone.

By Vafa Guliyeva