South Korea Condemns North Korea’s Destruction of Inter-Korean Roads as Violation of Agreement

SEOUL: South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday "strongly" condemned North Korea's blowing up of parts of inter-Korean roads as a clear violation of an inter-Korean agreement and a "very abnormal" act. According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry issued the statement after North Korea detonated parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the inter-Korean border around noon on Tuesday. In August, North Korea had already severed the Gyeongui and Donghae railways. The unification ministry highlighted North Korea's repetition of such "regressive" acts, citing their unilateral move in 2020 to blow up the joint liaison office in North Korea's border town of Kaesong. "North Korea's explosion of the northern part of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads is a clear violation of an inter-Korean agreement and a very abnormal act. We strongly condemn the North's move," the ministry stated. The two Koreas had roads and railways connected along the Gyeongui Line, which connects South Korea's western border city of P aju to North Korea's Kaesong, and the Donghae Line, along the east coast. The ministry also noted that the project to connect these roads and railways involved South Korea's loans worth US$133 million as it provided construction equipment in the form of loans at North Korea's request. Despite the recent destructions, "North Korea still has an obligation to repay the debt," the ministry added. "All responsibilities related to the explosion of the inter-Korean land routes lie on North Korea." The recent actions follow North Korea's declaration last week to sever all roads and railways connected to South Korea and to construct front-line defense structures, as part of efforts to "completely separate" North Korean territory from that of South Korea, which Pyongyang has labeled as the "primary hostile state and invariable principal enemy."