North Korea destroys roads leading to South Korea

South Korea’s military reported explosions on two roads that connect the country to the North on Tuesday. North Korea destroyed the roads in an attempt to sever ties with the South, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. After the explosions, South Korean forces fired warning shots south of the demarcation line and South Korea’s Unification Ministry condemned the actions of North Korea’s Pyongyang government.

What prompted the destruction? Officials in Pyongyang warned last week that it would permanently cut off all inter-Korean roads and railways and fortify its side of the border. North Korea claimed Seoul flew drones over the northern capital that scattered anti-North leaflets, but South Korea has not commented on that allegation.

The move comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to end relations with the South and abandon any efforts to reunify the peninsula peacefully. Kim earlier this year called South Korea a primary foe, saying that unification was impossible. The two countries remain formally at war after a 1953 armistice ended conflict in the Korean War.

Dig deeper: Read my report about North Korea testing two new ballistic missiles.