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North Korea blows up joint liaison office, dramatically raising tensions with South North Korea blows up joint liaison office, dramatically raising tensions with South
(about 1 hour later)
SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday blew up the joint liaison office it operated with South Korea, Seoul officials said, following through on a threat the Pyongyang regime issued days earlier as military tensions ramp up on the peninsula. SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday blew up a liaison office it operated with South Korea, following through on a threat the Pyongyang regime issued days earlier as military tensions ramp up on the peninsula.
The liaison office in the North Korean border city of Kaesong — opened in 2018 in the hopes of improving coordination between the two sides — was demolished shortly before 3 p.m. local time, the South’s Unification Ministry said. Local reports said an explosion could be heard near the border area. The joint facility in the North Korean border city of Kaesong — which the two sides opened in 2018 as a de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic relations — was demolished shortly before 3 p.m. local time, the South's Unification Ministry said.
The destruction of the liaison office marks a sharp escalation from Pyongyang, which has sounded an increasingly shrill tone toward South Korea in recent weeks. South Korea on Tuesday reinforced its military preparedness and surveillance following the North’s move, the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency reported. A short time later, North Korea's state radio reported "complete destruction" of the complex.
North Korea on Saturday threatened to blow up the facility, which had operated as a de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties between the two nations, which have remained technically still at war since their 1953 armistice. Local reports said an explosion could be heard near the border area. In response, South Korea reinforced its military preparedness and surveillance following the North's move, the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency reported.
“Before long, a tragic scene of the useless north-south joint liaison office completely collapsed would be seen,” said Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The facility's destruction marks a sharp escalation from Pyongyang, which has sounded an increasingly aggressive tone toward South Korea in recent weeks. The nuclear-armed regime has been criticizing plans by defectors in the South to launch pro-democracy leaflets across the border that are intended to undermine the dictatorship of Kim Jong Un.
Kim Yo Jong has been taking an increasingly high-profile role in the regime this year, leading to speculation among political analysts that she is being groomed to take over from her brother one day. Sister of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un rises in prominence as threats replace outreach
Pyongyang's warnings have coincided with the elevation of Kim Yo Jong, the leader's younger sister, to a more public role in the regime, fueling speculation among political analysts that officials are readying her for higher office as she shakes down Seoul for concessions.
"If the South Korean authorities have no capability and courage to carry out at once the thing they have failed to do for the past two years, why are the north-south relations still in stalemate?" said Kim Yo Jong in a statement on Saturday.
She labeled the joint liaison office "useless" and threatened to destroy it "before long," adding that she had asked the military to prepare a "hostile action" to unnerve the South.
North Korea has been left frustrated by its inability to win relief from international sanctions after nuclear talks with the United States reached a stalemate following a failed summit with President Trump in early 2019.
With its trade still severely curtailed, North Korea has been unable to develop its economy, while South Korea's center-left government has been unable to move forward with proposals for joint projects that might boost cooperation with its neighbor, such as cross-border railways.
Two years after Trump summit, Kim vows to boost North Korea’s nuclear deterrent
Earlier this month, Kim Yo Jong also threatened to scrap a military agreement with South Korea unless Seoul stops the anti-Pyongyang activists. South Korea's government said it would ban the activist groups from sending leaflets and asked the police last week to investigate them.
The destruction of the liaison office is a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in's efforts toward ending deep-rooted hostilities between the rival Koreas, which have remained technically at war since their 1953 armistice, and persuading Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons.
"North Korea should not cut off communications, create tensions and go back to the past era of confrontations," Moon said in a speech on Monday.
Sister of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un rises in prominence as threats replace outreach
Two years after Trump summit, Kim vows to boost North Korea’s nuclear deterrent