North Korea on brink of war as Kim Jong-un 'blows up roads to border with south'

The move follows a recent exchange between the North and South Korea in which Kim Jong-un's regime accused its southern counterparts of launching drones over its territory

Kim Jong-un has demolished sections of road that cross between North Korea and its southern neighbours, South Korea has claimed, following a heated exchange between the two nations.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff have also reported that South Korea's military fired within southern sections of the border in response to the explosions. The details of the firing were not disclosed, but it could have been an attempt to prevent cross-border fire by North Korea, reports the Mirror US.

It remains unclear whether North Korea has responded. South Korea's military has stated that it is enhancing its readiness and surveillance stance in collaboration with the United States. Footage released by South Korea's military displayed a billowing cloud of white and grey smoke from an explosion at a road near Kaesong, a border town, with North Korea sending in trucks and excavators to remove the rubble.

Another clip captured smoke rising from a coastal road along the Korean Peninsula's eastern frontier. The demolition of these roads is invocative of past orchestrated spectacles by North Korea, where infrastructure on its turf has been destroyed as a political signal. This comes after a heated exchange of threats between the two nations, following North Korea's allegations that South Korea flew drones over its capital.

The destruction of the roads is seen as a demonstration of North Korea's increasing disdain for South Korea's conservative government. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has pledged to cut ties with South Korea and abandon the pursuit of peaceful Korean unification.

Despite this, experts believe it's unlikely that Kim will initiate large-scale attacks on South Korea, theorising this would provoke a significant retaliation from the superior South Korea-US force, posing a threat to his survival. For instance, in 2020, Pyongyang detonated a South Korean-constructed liaison office north of the shared border as a response to leafleting by South Korean civilians.

Similarly, in 2018, it demolished its nuclear test site tunnels at the outset of talks with the US, and in 2008, a cooling tower was destroyed at its central nuclear facility amid ongoing disarmament negotiations. This recent destruction lines up with Kim Jong Un's January edict to forgo the aim of a peaceful unification with South Korea, marking the South as North Korea's "invariable principal enemy" and asserting its territorial sovereignty.

This directive shocked many observers outside of North Korea, appearing to diverge from the long-held ambitions of Kim's forebears to unite the Korean Peninsula under Northern dominance. Experts believe that Kim Jong Un's goal is to reduce South Korea's influence in the regional nuclear standoff and seek direct negotiations with the US.

They also suggest that Kim aims to curb South Korean cultural sway and strengthen his domestic rule. North Korea has accused South Korea of using drones to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month, threatening forceful retaliation if it happens again.