Aspen
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North Korean authorities on Tuesday demolished an inter-Korean liaison office in the border city of Kaesong, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) confirmed in a statement, in a dramatic escalation of tensions on the peninsula.
The demolition took place at 14:49, the MOU said.
The confirmation follows reports by local newspaper the JoongAng Ilbo earlier that an explosion had been heard in the vicinity of Kaesong, which lies in North Korean territory less than five kilometers from the South.
Further details are expected to emerge in the coming hours.
The news comes amid heightened inter-Korean tensions in the past week, prompted in part by North Korean anger at the South’s failure stop activists sending anti-regime leaflets into the North.
North Korea’s military earlier in the day announced it would soon advance troops into previously demilitarized areas.
That announcement followed comments by top official Kim Yo Jong on Saturday warning that the inter-Korean liaison office at Kaesong would soon be “collapsed.”
A growing domestic propaganda campaign has accompanied these warnings: ruling party daily the Rodong Sinmun on Monday carried a number of statements purportedly by enraged citizens keen to mete out revenge against Southern “enemies.”
The newspaper also quoted local miners as saying they were ready to help “blow up” the inter-Korean liaison office, which was opened in 2018.
South Korea’s government spent a total of KRW9.7 billion ($8.6 million) on the refurbishment of the joint facility, originally intended to facilitate dialogue between the two Koreas.
No South Koreans are currently at work at the office, which was temporarily closed in January amid fears around the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
https://www.nknews.org/2020/06/expl...korean-liaison-office-in-kaesong-local-press/
The demolition took place at 14:49, the MOU said.
The confirmation follows reports by local newspaper the JoongAng Ilbo earlier that an explosion had been heard in the vicinity of Kaesong, which lies in North Korean territory less than five kilometers from the South.
Further details are expected to emerge in the coming hours.
The news comes amid heightened inter-Korean tensions in the past week, prompted in part by North Korean anger at the South’s failure stop activists sending anti-regime leaflets into the North.
North Korea’s military earlier in the day announced it would soon advance troops into previously demilitarized areas.
That announcement followed comments by top official Kim Yo Jong on Saturday warning that the inter-Korean liaison office at Kaesong would soon be “collapsed.”
A growing domestic propaganda campaign has accompanied these warnings: ruling party daily the Rodong Sinmun on Monday carried a number of statements purportedly by enraged citizens keen to mete out revenge against Southern “enemies.”
The newspaper also quoted local miners as saying they were ready to help “blow up” the inter-Korean liaison office, which was opened in 2018.
South Korea’s government spent a total of KRW9.7 billion ($8.6 million) on the refurbishment of the joint facility, originally intended to facilitate dialogue between the two Koreas.
No South Koreans are currently at work at the office, which was temporarily closed in January amid fears around the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
https://www.nknews.org/2020/06/expl...korean-liaison-office-in-kaesong-local-press/
