North Korea's belated formalization of 'inter-Korean disconnection'...Are you worried about the procession of defection?

[Anchor]
North Korea, which has been pushing for inter-Korean disconnection through landmines, structural damage, and barrier construction, has belatedly made it official.

North Korea said that it is trying to deter war and protect the right to self-defense, but in reality, it is interpreted as a measure to prevent and justify a series of defection processions.

Reporter Kim Dae-gyeom's report.

[Reporter]
The North Korean military is burying landmines in the East Sea Line at the end of last year, as disclosed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This year, North Korea has also removed all road fences, streetlights, rail rails, and sleeper on the East Sea Line.

Likewise, the Gyeongui Line, another land route, has been blocked from all land routes connecting the two Koreas since last August.

[Kim Myung-soo / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (National Defense Commission Audit on the 10th): Blocking measures have been carried out since December last year, and the whole was effectively blocked in August as the first host country was established according to Kim Jong-un's instructions..]

It is also known that more than 10 anti-tank barriers similar to the Demilitarized Zone are being built in the East Sea and Gyeongui Line.

North Korea, which has been working on this for months, suddenly announced the inter-Korean disconnection in the name of the General Staff.

Although it was used as an excuse to suppress war and protect safety, the South Korean military believes that it is to prevent residents or soldiers from defecting.

[Kim Myung-soo / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (National Defense Commission on the 10th): I think it is a measure to block the fear of the regime and to block the outflow of internal personnel.]

Recently, however, a procession of defection has continued despite North Korea's blocking measures, with one North Korean defector defecting on a wooden boat near Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea.

[Park Won-gon / Professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University (YTN 'News Now' appearance): Last August, a North Korean soldier came down toward Goseong and the East Sea. It's the North Korean troops in front of you who hear the loudspeaker. There is a possibility that the troops will be agitated. If you listen to it continuously for about three months. Then it means to stop them from coming down.]

At the same time, North Korea is seeking to increase tensions through conventional power improvements as well as forward fortification.

The South Korean military authorities called North Korea's move a self-isolation and unreasonable measure.

I'm YTN's Kim Daegyeom.



Photographer: Woo Young-taek
Edit
video: Ma Young-hoo