North Korea has reportedly begun dismantling a railway bridge on the Gyeongui Line, which leads to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The move comes amid expectations that North Korea will officially declare the severance of inter-Korean relations through a constitutional amendment during the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly session on October 7, following an order by Chairman Kim Jong-un. This development is seen as a concrete action reinforcing Pyongyang’s intention to cut ties with the South.
A South Korean Ministry of Unification official stated on October 2, “Recent satellite imagery reveals that North Korea has dismantled a railway bridge crossing the Sacheon River, a tributary of the Imjin River, located on the northern section of the Gyeongui Line.”
Analysis of civilian satellite images taken by Airbus on September 23 shows that most of the bridge’s deck, which is near the Panmun Station heading toward the Kaesong Industrial Complex, has been removed, leaving only the pillars.
In contrast, the bridge appeared intact in images from February 10 of this year. Around the same period, North Korea reportedly planted landmines in eight rows along the Gyeongui Line and piled mounds of earth to block the route.
The Ministry of Unification is also paying close attention to the possibility that North Korea may annul the 1991 Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, which has defined inter-Korean relations for 33 years.
The ministry official explained, “The Basic Agreement characterizes the relationship between the two Koreas as a ‘special relationship temporarily formed in the process of pursuing unification,’ not as a state-to-state relationship. Given North Korea’s push for a hostile two-state relationship, there is a possibility they may seek to nullify it.”
Additionally, the ministry offered insights into the flooding that occurred in North Korea’s northern regions, particularly in Pyongan and Jagang provinces, in late July.
Satellite images indicate that significant casualties occurred in Jagang Province. For instance, the mountainous village of Gwangmyeong-ri in Seonggan County was largely buried by floods, with nearly all of the area’s homes submerged. Before the disaster, at least 200 houses were clustered in that region.
BY YEONGGYO CHUNG, YUJUNG LEE, YOUNGNAM KIM [chung.yeonggyo@joongang.co.kr]
