North Korea detonated bombs north of its eastern and western borders around noon on Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. According to JCS, military South Korea it later fired warning shots on its border, in the area south of the military demarcation line. There were no reports of damage in South Korea from the detonation.
Provocative actions by North Korea
While these incidents reflect an escalation in tensions on the peninsula, they do not signal an imminent start armed conflict – Bloomberg’s editorial staff refers to the words of analysts. North Korea has had a tendency to engage in the past provocative actions in the period preceding important political events abroad, incl US elections.
The leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un seeks to break ties with its neighbor, excluding the possibility of peaceful unification. A defense and security meeting was held on Monday to discuss military action plans in response to alleged drone flights over Pyongyang, according to state media the Korea Central News Agency.
Drone flights over Pyongyang
North Korea reacted sharply to Seoul’s alleged infiltration of drones in its airspace and ordered artillery units along the border to be “on full alert to open fire” for an immediate strike if necessary. The Kim regime has called the drone infiltration a “war provocation.” South Korea declined to say whether it sent drones across the border.
North Korea said last week it would “completely separate” its territory from the South. These announcements were allegedly provoked by joint exercises between South Korea and the United States and the deployment of American strategic assets in the region.
A plan to completely cut off North Korea
The destruction of roads connecting the two Koreas is not the first time that Pyongyang has attacked symbols of rapprochement between the countries. In 2020, he demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in what was seen as an attempt to attract maximum global attention with little risk of war.
Tuesday’s detonations also appear largely symbolic. Kim ruled out the idea of peaceful unification with the South and said he had the right to “annihilate” his neighbor on the divided peninsula.
