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Visitors use binoculars to view the North Korean side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.
North Korea has accused South Korea of flying drones into its capital, stoking tensions that have been simmering for months.
The drones reportedly scattered propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, in what the North described as a provocation that could lead to “armed conflict or even war.”
After making the allegations against the South on Friday, Pyongyang said it had ordered border troops to prepare to fire. South Korea, in turn, said it was ready to respond and warned that if the security of its citizens was threatened, it would mean “the end of the North Korean regime.”
Then, on Tuesday, the North blew up sections of two roads linking it to South Korea, making good on an earlier threat.
The outbreaks of violence are the latest in a series of exchanges between the two Koreas, which have seen tensions rise to their highest level in years since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in January that the South was the number one enemy of his regime.
What is happening?
On October 11, the North Korean Foreign Ministry accused the South of sending night drones over Pyongyang for two weeks. He said the leaflets scattered by the drones contained “inflammatory rumors and trash.”
Kim's influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, warned Seoul of “horrible consequences” if the alleged drone flights were repeated. She then said there was “clear evidence” that southern “military gangsters” were behind the alleged provocations.
North Korea has released blurry images of what it says are drones flying in the sky, as well as images purportedly showing leaflets, but there is no way to independently verify the claims.
While South Korea initially denied sending drones to the North, its Joint Chiefs of Staff later said it could neither confirm nor deny Pyongyang's allegations.
There has been local speculation that the drones were piloted by militants, who sent the same material north using balloons.
Park Sang-hak, head of the Free North Korea Movement Coalition, denied North Korea's claims about the drone incursion, saying: “We did not send drones to North Korea “.
On Monday, Kim met with the army chief, military leaders, security and defense ministers, as well as senior officials, North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported.
There, Kim set “the direction of immediate military action” and tasked those responsible for “operating war deterrence and exercising the right of self-defense.”
Lee Sung-joon, public relations official for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the North could stage “small-scale provocations” such as small explosions on roads connecting the two Koreas.
Then came the explosions on the symbolic roads of Gyeongui and Donghae.
Watch the moment North Korea blows up roads connecting South Korea
Even though the two roads have long been closed, their destruction sends a message that Kim does not want to negotiate with the South, analysts say.
Following the explosions, South Korea's military said it fired weapons on its side of the border as a show of force and increased surveillance of the North.
Hours later, the government of Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, designated 11 inter-Korean border areas as “danger zones” in an effort to prevent people from sending anti-North propaganda leaflets across the border.
“Gyeonggi Province has determined that distributing leaflets toward North Korea is an extremely dangerous act that could trigger a military conflict,” Kim Sung-joong, vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, said during a press briefing.
Spreading such leaflets could threaten “the lives and safety of our residents,” Kim added, as “inter-Korean relations are rapidly deteriorating.”
What does this show?
Analysts say the drone incident suggests North Korea is bolstering its domestic support by creating the impression that threats to the country are intensifying.
Using terms like “separate states” in reference to the South, and abandoning words like “compatriots” and “unification,” is part of this strategy, said Professor Kang Dong-wan, who teaches political science and diplomacy at Dong-a University in Beijing. Busan.
“The North Korean regime relies on a politics of fear and needs an external enemy,” Professor Kang said. “Whenever tensions rise, North Korea emphasizes external threats to strengthen its loyalty to the regime.”
Analysts say the duel between the two Koreas shows how they are locked in a “game of chicken,” with both sides unwilling to blink first.
“Neither side is willing to make concessions at this stage,” said Professor Kim Dong-yup of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Faced with mutual distrust, Seoul “needs to think strategically about how to manage the crisis,” Professor Kim added.
Are the Koreas headed for war?
Not at the moment, analysts say.
“I doubt the situation will escalate to war. North Korea is exploiting military confrontation to strengthen internal cohesion,” Professor Kang said.
“I question North Korea's ability to start a full-scale war. The regime is well aware of the serious consequences that such a conflict would bring,” Professor Kim said.
The most recent row over alleged drone flights will most likely remain a “verbal brawl,” said Professor Nam Sung-wook, who teaches North Korean studies at Korea University in Seoul.
Because Seoul and Pyongyang know they cannot bear the cost of full-scale war, Professor Nam said, “the likelihood of actually using nuclear weapons is low.”
What is the big picture?
Technically, the two Koreas are still at war since they did not sign a peace treaty at the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Reunification with the South has always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North's ideology since the establishment of the state – until Kim abandoned reunification with the South in January.
Kim has brought North Korea closer to Russia under Vladimir Putin, putting him at odds with the United States and the West, who are South Korea's main allies.
Also important are North Korea's long-standing ties to China, arguably its most important ally. Following the drone incident, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday called on all parties “to avoid further escalation of conflicts” on the peninsula.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are increasing as the US presidential campaign enters its home stretch.
