North Korea blows up South Korea liaison office, Seoul says

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

North Korea blows up South Korea liaison office, Seoul says

9:53 CAT | 16 Jun 2020

Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong, North Korea. [Photo: Pool/Getty Images AsiaPac]

Kim Jong Un’s regime destroys symbol of 2018 rapprochement

Move follows weeks of escalating threats against South Korea

North Korea destroyed an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border Tuesday, South Korea said, shortly after threatening military action in the region over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent into its territory.

“North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office,” South Korea’s Unification Ministry said in a text message. The move comes about a week after Kim Jong Un’s regime abandoned its operations at the facility that once allowed the rivals to communicate around the clock.

Smoke and an explosion were observed rising from an area close to the industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, the Yonhap News Agency said. The industrial park was jointly established with South Korea, but has been shuttered amid tensions between the two rivals. The site is also home to a liaison office intended to maintain relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.

The facility was opened in 2018 the spirit of rapprochement advocated by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and was part of moves to reduce threats along the border, where the two countries have stationed about 1 million troops. It allowed for constant communication between the two sides for the first time since the start of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Centre for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said the latest action taken by North Korea illustrates its “strong will” to “completely shut off” its relations with the South.

“North Korea is working toward re-militarization of the Kaesong industrial complex,” Cheong siad. “And blowing the liaison office in the complex would just be the first step on their road map.”

By Kanga Kong and Jeong-Ho Lee

Source: Bloomberg