North Korea has reportedly installed mines on a tactical road within the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ), planting mines on all three roads connecting the two Koreas.

According to the South Korean military on Monday, North Korea installed mines on the tactical road near Arrowhead Ridge inside the DMZ in Gangwon Province late last year. 

The tactical road was established to support an inter-Korean joint project to excavate Korean War remains at the ridge, a notorious battle site, according to the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. 

North Korea was also detected installing mines in January on two rare roads on the Gyeongui and Donghae lines that had connected the two Koreas’ western and eastern areas, respectively. 

In April, the North was found to have removed dozens of street lamps along the two roads, in an apparent move to completely close the routes, once seen as symbols of inter-Korean cooperation and exchange. 

In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the implementation of strict measures to block all the channels of inter-Korean communication along the border, such as cutting off the North’s side of the Gyeongui land route to an irretrievable level.

[Photo : YONHAP News]