New satellite images have revealed that North Korea has built wall-like sections in many places near the South Korean border. Images analyzed by the BBC’s verification service BBC Verify show that land within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has also been cleared. Experts say this could amount to a violation of the long-standing ceasefire with South Korea.
The two countries are technically at war because they have not signed a peace agreement. DMZ is a 4 km wide buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ is divided into two sides, with countries controlling their own sides.
FOUND “EXTRAORDINARY”
According to experts, this latest movement is “unusual” and coincides with a period of increasing tension between the two countries.
“At this point, we can guess that North Korea wants to strengthen its military presence and fortifications along the border,” says Shreyas Reddy, a reporter for the Seoul-based news site NK News.
BBC Verify obtained high-resolution satellite images of a 7km stretch of the border to examine North Korea’s changes to the area. These images show at least three sections where barriers have been erected near the DMZ, covering a total area of approximately 1 km near the eastern edge of the border. It is possible that barriers have been built on other parts of the border.
“NORTH KOREA IS DOING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME”
It is not known exactly when construction started due to the lack of previous high-resolution images from the area. However, these structures are not visible in an image taken in November 2023.
Dr., who works as a military and defense expert at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies in Seoul, where the BBC spoke. “In my personal assessment, this is the first time North Korea is building a barrier separating one place from another,” Uk Yang said.
Dr. Yang recalls that North Korea built anti-tank walls in the 1990s to prevent tanks from advancing in case of war. However, in these latest images, the academician states that North Korea has built 2-3 meter high walls and says, “These do not look like anti-tank walls.”
Examining satellite images, Dr. “The shape of the walls suggests that they were intended to divide an area, not just block tanks,” Yang adds.
There is also evidence of land clearing on the North Korean side of the DMZ.
It is also seen that there is a newly created connection road at the eastern end of the border in the latest satellite images.
We’ve adopted the BBC’s research on border mapping for the map above, which shows the precise northern boundary of the DMZ. This is because there are slight differences in existing maps of the border. However, all versions we could find indicate that land clearing took place within the DMZ.
An official with South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a recent press release that the military had detected ongoing activities related to “strengthening tactical routes, laying mines, and clearing wasteland.”
There have been previous reports of land clearing outside the North Korean-controlled side of the DMZ.
Prof. from Korea University Ilmin Institute of International Relations. Dr. “Land clearing can be done for both military and non-military purposes,” says Kil Joo Ban.
Prof. Dr. Kil Joo Ban adds that the clearance “allows for the easy establishment of observation points” for “North Korea to monitor military activities in South Korea” and to detect “defectors trying to cross the border into South Korea.”
“IT MAY MEAN VIOLATION OF THE ceasefire”
Vice President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies for Asia and Korea, Prof. Dr. According to Victor Cha, “Constructing structures in the DMZ without prior consultation is unusual and could mean a violation of the ceasefire.”
The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice in which both sides committed to “not engage in any hostile actions within, from, or within the demilitarized zone.” However, a final peace agreement was not reached.
Reunification has been unlikely for years. North Korean President Kim Jong Un also announced this year that his country will no longer pursue this goal. This had always been the goal of North Korean leaders before.
According to some experts, these statements are “unprecedented”. Again, some experts saw Kim’s description of South Korea as the “arch-enemy” at the beginning of this year as an important policy change.
Since then, the North has demolished some monuments representing the unity of the two countries, as well as begun deleting references to reunification from government websites.
Head of European and International Studies at Kings College London, Dr. “North Korea does not need more barriers to prevent an attack from the South. But by erecting these border barriers, the North is signaling that it does not want reunification,” says Ramon Pacheco Pardo.
Some experts also say this is in line with Kim’s broader actions.
Korean Peninsula researcher at Oxford University, Dr. “North Korea does not even pretend to want to negotiate with the United States or South Korea, and has turned down Japan’s recent attempts to negotiate,” says Edward Howell.
Dr. “With North Korea’s relations with Russia becoming warmer, we should not be surprised if provocations increase between the two Koreas this year,” Howell adds.
