Thoroughly prepare for the North’s provocations

We must strongly respond to North Korea’s military provocations, but at the same time should manage the situation prudently.

North Korea on Tuesday destroyed two sections of the roads linked to the Gyeongui Line and the Donghae Line, which connect South and North Korea. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North used explosives to demolish the two sections in the northern side of the Demilitarized Zone around noon. It left no damage on our side, but the possibility of an armed clash grew after our military responded by firing weapons.

The two roads, which were built in 2003 at the cost of $132.9 million by South Korea, were once a symbol of improved inter-Korean ties as they facilitated the exchanges through the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mount Kumgang tourism. With the destruction, however, the two Koreas are heading to an uncertain future. The destruction illustrates the North taking a dramatic turn to denying the cherished value of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il — the unification of the divided land.

Our military was fully prepared for the destruction after the North warned of it. North Korea has been planting mines and building a wall along the DMZ after Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean relations as “being between two hostile states” last December. North Korea also vowed to take military steps to “completely separate” the two Koreas.

North Korea likely ravaged the roads for two reasons — to put into action its leader’s declaration to separate the two countries and demonstrate a determination to respond to the uninterrupted South-U.S. joint exercises and our military leaders’ verbal threat to end the Kim Jong-un regime. The North already destroyed the inter-Korean liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Compound in 2019. But the recalcitrant state must keep in mind that it can gain nothing from this type of reaction.

The North won’t stop at the destruction of the roads. After its Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korea had sent unmanned drones to Pyongyang, Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister, raised the level of tension for four consecutive days. In a meeting on Monday, Kim Jong-un even ordered his senior military and security aides to take even stronger “political and military actions” against the South. We must not forget the lessons from the Cheonan sinking in 2010 and the Yeonpyeong bombardment the same year.

We must strongly respond to North Korea’s military provocations, but at the same time should manage the situation prudently. Our government must brace for unexpected military provocations from the North. We hope our government reinforces the alliance when U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell arrives in Seoul for a security meeting — and find effective ways to deter the North’s possible military provocation in the coming months and beyond.