The escalation between the Koreas worries the border population. In any case, this is what several representatives of the inhabitants of the villages which border the famous DMZ, the poorly named demilitarized zone, which splits the peninsula in two, proclaimed this Thursday, January 25.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicolas Rocca
As the North continues its missile tests, the South Korean President’s bellicose rhetoric brings back bad memories and makes them fear the risk of an accident.
It’s been two months since Lee Jae-hee’s daily life was disrupted by inter-Korean relations. In November, the two Koreas ended an agreement signed in 2018 that limited military presence around the demilitarized zone. Since then, this resident of the city has lived in Paju, a handful of kilometers from the border with the North, describing a particularly heavy atmosphere.
“ The residents are very scared. It’s a lot of fairly subtle changes in our daily lives, in the sky and on earth. Access to the border is more complicated, but it is mainly the presence of reconnaissance planes or helicopters which are visible to the naked eye. “, he said.
“ We cleared the fields »
This observation is shared by Kim Yong-bin. This farmer has land in what is called the CCZ, a buffer zone where civilian access is limited: “ These days, when we see military vehicles and troops moving in and out of our region, it is hard not to wonder if a military operation has begun. “.
He lives in Cheorwon, a border district severely affected by the Korean War. “ We cleared the fields, we cleared the wasteland, we made it cultivable again, and we are cultivating it now. We must not forget that if there is a war, everything will have to start again », Continues Kim Yong-bin.
These border residents are calling for limiting U.S.-South Korean military exercises to put an end to the escalation between the Koreas that continue to drift apart.
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