South Korea on alert as North ‘to blow up border roads’ amid drones dispute

Seoul says it is ‘fully ready’ for any provocation as Pyongyang deploys eight artillery brigades to the border.

South Korea’s military has announced it is “fully ready” to respond amid reports that North Korean troops have been deployed to the border and are getting ready to blow up roads connecting the two nations along the heavily militarised dividing line.

Tensions have escalated in recent days as the nuclear-armed North accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital to drop propaganda leaflets filled with “inflammatory rumours and rubbish”, and warned that if another drone was detected, it would consider it “a declaration of war”.

South Korean military spokesman Lee Sung-jun told reporters in Seoul on Monday they are in “full readiness” against the possibility of “a provocation” after Pyongyang ordered artillery units along the border to open fire in case of an escalation.

South Korean state news agency Yonhap also quoted Lee as saying the military found that the North is installing screens along the roads “to make preparations for the explosions”.

“It is possible for [North Korea’s explosions] to take place as early as today [Monday],” he said. “If North Korea undertakes a provocation, we will strongly retaliate in terms of our right to self-defence.”

Seoul Korea neither confirmed nor denied on Monday that it was responsible for sending drones across the border, calling the North’s claim “shameless”.

Lee, its military spokesman, instead blamed Pyongyang for starting the tension after it launched “vulgar and base trash balloons” to the South.

Previously, Seoul has denied it was behind the drone flights, with local speculation centred on activist groups in the South, which have long sent propaganda and the currency of the United States, a close South Korean ally, northwards, typically by balloon.

But the North insists Seoul is officially to blame, announcing late on Sunday it had told eight artillery brigades already on war footing “to get fully ready to open fire”, and reinforced air observation posts in Pyongyang.

Pyongyang claims propaganda drones have infiltrated the capital’s airspace three times in recent days, with leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister threatening a “horrible disaster” unless they stop.

In a statement early on Monday, Kim Yo Jong said the drone flights were “an unpardonable, malicious challenge to our state”.

As part of the North’s retaliatory action, it also seemed to be preparing to carry out explosions at roads connected to the South, Seoul’s military said.

Last week, the North’s military announced the measure will “completely separate” North Korea’s territory from the South.

The two Koreas are still technically at war after their 1950-53 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The cross-border roads are remnants of periods of rapprochement between the countries, including a 2018 summit between the leaders when they declared there would be no more war and a new era of peace had opened.

North Korea has reintroduced heavy weapons into the Demilitarized Zone border buffer and restored guard posts, after the two sides declared a 2018 military agreement aimed at easing tensions no longer valid.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies