North Korea Road Explosions And Railroads Near Border, South Korea Fires Warning Shots

North Korea blew up several inter-Korean roads and railroads on its heavily fortified border side between the two Koreas on Tuesday, prompting the South Korean military to fire warning shots.

Pyongyang last week said it would cut off roads and inter-Korean railroads completely, fortifying areas on its border side as part of a push for a "two-state" system that scrapped its long-standing goals for unification.

Sekitar tengah hari pada Hari Selasa, beberapa ruas jalan dan relang reta di bagian utara yang terhub ke Korea Selatan hancur, kata Kepala Staf Gabungan (JCS) Korea Selatan, melansir Reuters 15 Oktober.

Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, condemned the incident as a clear violation of previous inter-Korean agreements, calling it "very abnormal."

"It's very sad that North Korea has repeatedly carried out such regressive behavior," ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam told a briefing.

After the demolition on Tuesday, a video released by the South Korean military showed explosions and plumes of smoke billowing over the road area where North Korea installed a black block.

The footage also shows several garbage trucks and land processors approaching with a group of North Korean military officials observing and directing the vehicle.

In response to the explosion, the South Korean military fired warning shots south of the military's demarcation line, although there was no damage on the Seoul side of the border, he said.

It is known that tensions escalated after North Korea last week accused Seoul of sending unmanned aircraft to Pyongyang. North Korea said the unmanned plane was spreading "a large number of" North anti-Korean leaflets.

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister warned on Tuesday Seoul would "pay a high price".

The South Korean government declined to say whether the South Korean military or civilians flew the unmanned aircraft.

Previously, the two Koreas also clashed over balloons containing garbage flown since May from North Korea. Pyongyang said the launch was a response to balloons sent by anti-regime activists in South Korea.

The two Koreas are technically still at war after their 1950-53 war ended in a ceasefire, not a peace agreement.

Cross-border roads and railroads are remnants of a relationship recovery effort that includes a summit in 2018. Seoul has disbursed more than $132 million to rebuild relations in the form of cheap loans to Pyongyang, according to Unification Ministry data.

"It was a major inter-Korean cooperation project carried out at a request from North Korea," a spokesman for the Coordinating Ministry said, adding Pyongyang was still obliged to repay the loan.