North Korea destroys inter-Korean liaison office along border – report

JUNE 16, 2020 10:29

North Korea demolished an inter-Korean liaison office located a joint industrial complex in the North Korea border town of Kaesong on Tuesday amid heightened tensions following anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets sent from South Korea by defectors, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

An explosion was heard and smoke was spotted at the site on Tuesday. The South Korean Ministry of Unification confirmed that North Korea had demolished the office on Tuesday.

Chok Hyun-soo, a spokesperson for the South Korean defense ministry, stated on Tuesday that the US and South Korea are “closely monitoring and detecting” North Korean military movements under “close coordination,” according to Yonhap.

The General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army had warned that it would send troops “into the zones that had been demilitarized under the North-South agreement, turn the front line into a fortress and further heighten the military vigilance against the South,” according to Yonhap.

Yonhap reported earlier on Tuesday that Kaesong and the Mount Kumgang tourist zone would be the most likely areas where North Korea would send troops.

The industrial zone in Kaesong was built as part of an agreement between then-South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in 2000.

Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, stated on Saturday that South Korea would soon witness “tragic scene of the useless North-South joint liaison office completely collapsed,” according to Yonhap.