North Korea has started dismantling power transmission lines connected to towers constructed by South Korea to supply electricity to the now-defunct Kaesong Industrial Complex, according to reports on November 26.
Military surveillance assets observed several North Korean soldiers climbing transmission towers near the Gyeongui Line railway and cutting some of the power lines beginning November 24. A South Korean military official commented, “This appears to be part of efforts to dismantle the transmission towers.”
The steel-structured towers, spaced several hundred meters apart, are located along the Gyeongui Line road, stretching from just north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)—where North Korea recently destroyed inter-Korean infrastructure—to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex, situated just inside North Korea across the MDL, was launched in 2004 as part of a peaceful engagement effort. The project allowed South Korean companies to hire educated and skilled North Korean labor fluent in Korean, while providing North Korea with a valuable source of foreign currency. The complex was shut down in 2016 after North Korea conducted a nuclear test.
The transmission network, consisting of 48 towers—33 in South Korea and 15 in North Korea—was built by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in December 2006. It delivered electricity from Munsan in South Korea to North Korea’s Pyeonghwa Substation, powering the industrial complex.
Electricity transmission ceased in February 2016 following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January that year. Although power supply was briefly restored later, it was completely cut off in June 2020 after North Korea demolished the inter-Korean liaison office.
With the ongoing removal of transmission lines, North Korea is expected to move forward with the full-scale dismantling of the towers.
This effort is part of Pyongyang’s broader campaign to sever inter-Korean ties, following Kim Jong-un’s declaration earlier this year that the two Koreas are no longer “one people” but “hostile states” at war with one another.
In January, Kim stated that inter-Korean relations had shifted to those of two hostile nations in conflict. Since then, North Korea has systematically dismantled inter-Korean infrastructure, including removing streetlights along the Gyeongui and Donghae Line roads in March, rail ties in May, and sections of roads in October.
This latest move highlights North Korea’s continued efforts to erase symbols of inter-Korean cooperation.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [han.younghye@joongang.co.kr]
