SEOUL,
Oct 15 (Reuters) - North Korea blew up sections of inter-Korean roads
and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border between the
two Koreas on Tuesday, prompting South Korea's military to fire warning
shots.
Pyongyang said
last week it would cut off the inter-Korean roads and railways entirely
and further fortify the areas on its side of the border as part of its
push for a "two-state" system scrapping its longstanding goal of
unification.
At
around midday on Tuesday, some northern parts of road and rail lines
connected to the South were destroyed, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff
(JCS) said.
Seoul's
unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, condemned the
incident as a clear violation of past inter-Korean agreements, calling
it "highly abnormal."
"It
is deplorable that North Korea is repeatedly conducting such regressive
behaviour," ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam told a briefing.
Tensions mounted after the North last week accused
Seoul of sending drones over Pyongyang. North Korea said the drones
scattered a "huge number" of anti-North leaflets, and Kim Yo Jong,
leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, warned on Tuesday that Seoul would "pay a dear price".
South Korea's government has declined to say whether the South Korean military or civilians had flown the alleged drones.
The
two Koreas have also clashed over balloons of trash floated since May
from North Korea. Pyongyang has said the launches are a response to
balloons sent by anti-regime activists in the South.
After
Tuesday's demolitions, video released by the South's military showed an
explosion and a plume of smoke rising above an area of road where the
North had put up a black barrier.
It
also showed several dump trucks and earth-movers approaching with a
group of North Korean military officials observing and guiding the
vehicles.
In
response to the blasts, the South's military fired warning shots south
of the military demarcation line, although there was no damage on
Seoul's side of the border, it said.