North Korea begins blocking road linking South to symbolic Kaesong Industrial Complex

North Korea has begun constructing barriers blocking a road from South Korea leading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in an apparent effort to physically sever cross-border ties, according to Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday.

A photo of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea as seen from Paju, northern Gyeonggi, on Monday [YONHAP]

North Korea has begun constructing barriers blocking a road from South Korea leading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in an apparent effort to physically sever cross-border ties, according to Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday.

VOA, which analyzed satellite imagery taken by Planet Labs, reported the North had constructed three to four “large-scale” barrier walls to block traffic on the road that runs along the Gyeongui Line connecting Seoul to Kaesong.

The walls, which are set approximately 15 meters (49.2 feet) apart from each other, appear to span the entire 20-meter width of the road in the satellite images and are located approximately 320 meters north of the military demarcation line (MDL) that constitutes the de facto inter-Korean boundary.

Dorasan Station, which is the northernmost rail station on the South Korean segment of the Gyeongui Line, is located about 2.1 kilometers south of where the road barriers have been built, while the entrance to the Kaesong Industrial Complex is located 3.5 kilometers north of the roadblocks.

Their construction comes several months after the South Korean military reported that the North had demolished lamp posts along the Gyeongui and Donghae rail lines and erected what appear to be anti-tank defensive structures.

Satellite images also show that the black, asphalt-covered roads leading to Kaesong have turned into dirt paths, further obstructing the return of South Korean government officials and companies to the industrial zone.

The South Korean Unification Ministry tacitly accepted this prospect in January when it announced the dissolution of the public foundation that supports operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, citing the low likelihood of the zone’s reopening and the high costs of maintaining the foundation.

Despite South Korea’s official withdrawal from Kaesong, satellite images show that the North continues to maintain and operate the industrial zone.

Satellite analysis by VOA released on Sept. 11 shows that the North had repainted crosswalks at about 21 locations within the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

The images also show that the North has constructed a new building inside the industrial zone on the site of a factory run by the South Korean company Dongwon F&B.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, which began operations in 2005, was the most prominent symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation under the conciliatory Sunshine Policy pursued by presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun from 1998 to 2008.

In its heyday, the zone housed factories run by more than 120 South Korean companies and employed up to 50,000 North Koreans, who enjoyed far better working conditions and pay than most of their compatriots.

However, the South Korean government decided to suspend operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in February 2016 after the North conducted several nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests.

After a brief lull in tensions during the preceding Moon Jae-in administration from 2018 to 2020, the North froze South Korean assets within its territory and eventually blew up the joint liaison office located inside the zone in 2020.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]