Drones, threats and explosions: Why Korean tensions are rising

Getty Images Visitors use binoculars to look at the North Korean side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, from South Korea's Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju on October 9, 2024. Getty Images

North Korea has accused South Korea of flying robots into its cash, escalating tensions that have been simmering for decades.

In a retaliatory offense that the North described as” an armed conflict and even battle,” the robots reportedly spread misinformation flyers over Pyongyang.

Pyongyang said it had given an order to prepare borders forces for fire after the South exposed these allegations on Friday. South Korea responded by saying it was prepared to respond and that it would “end the North Korean regime” if its citizens ‘ health were threatened.

Then, on Tuesday, the North blew up sections of two roads that connected it to South Korea, making good on an earlier threat.

The latest in a long line of markets between the two Koreas has seen tensions rise to their highest levels in ages since Kim Jong Un, the North’s president, declared in January that the South was his administration’s top enemy.

What is happening?

On October 11, the North Korean government accused the South of sending robots to Pyongyang nightly over the course of two days. It stated that the flyers that the robots whipped up contained “inflammatory rumours and rubbish”

Kim’s important girl, Kim Yo-jong, warned Seoul of “horrible effects” if the alleged drone planes happened once. She afterwards said there was” clear information” that “military criminals” from the South were behind the alleged actions.

There is no way to individually verify North Korea’s claims, which include hazy images of what it claimed were drones flying in the sky and graphics that it claimed were of.

South Korea first denied sending robots into the North, but its Joint Chiefs of Staff later stated that it could neither affirm nor refute Pyongyang’s assertion.

Locals have speculated that protesters have been using bubbles to transport the same components to the North, according to local legends.

Park Sang-hak, the head of the Free North Korea Movement Coalition, denied North Korea’s say about the aircraft invasion, stating,” We did not send robots to North Korea”.

On Monday, Kim met the head of the army, military leaders, the ministers of state security and army, and best leaders, the North’s standard news agency KCNA said.

Kim instructed officials to carry out the “operation of the combat barrier and the training of the right to self-defence” there.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff public relations agent, Lee Sung-joon, said the North was support” small-scale threats” such as tiny explosions on bridges connecting the Koreas.

Next came the explosions at the symbolic Gyeongui&nbsp, and&nbsp, Donghae routes.

Both bridges have been closed for a while, but their destruction, according to experts, sends a concept that Kim does not want to deal with the South.

The North Korean government claimed that in response to the blasts, it had increased security of the North and fired arms on its side of the border as a show of force.

Days later, the state of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, designated 11 inter-Korean borders areas as “danger areas” in a bid to stop people from sending anti-North advertising flyers across the borders.

In a press presentation, Gyeonggi Province’s evil government, Kim Sung-joong, said,” Gyeonggi Province has determined that the work of scattering flyers toward North Korea is an extremely dangerous work that may spark a military conflict.”

The sprinkling of like leaflets may harm the “lives and security of our occupants”, Kim added, as “inter-Korean relations are speedily deteriorating”.

What does this present?

According to analysts, the helicopter event suggests that North Korea is bolstering its own internal support by presenting as a growing threat to the nation.

Using words like” individual state” in reference to the South, and dropping thoughts like” colleagues” and “unification”, is part of this strategy, said Professor Kang Dong-wan, who teaches social science and politics at Dong-a University in Busan.

According to Prof. Kang,” The North Korean regime depends on the politics of fear and requires an additional enemy.” North Korea emphasizes physical threats whenever there are tensions rising to bolster the regime’s commitment.

According to experts, the tit-for-tat between the two Koreas demonstrates how tightly entwined they are in a” meat game,” with neither side willing to react in vain.

At this point, neither part is willing to make concessions, according to Professor Kim Dong-yup of the Seoul-based University of North Korean Research.

As there is mutual hostility, Seoul “needs to carefully consider how to handle the crisis”, Prof Kim added.

Are the Koreas on the verge of war?

Not at the time, researchers say.

” I doubt that the condition will turn into war,” he said. According to Prof. Kang, North Korea is utilizing defense hostility to improve internal cohesion.

” I question North Korea’s capability to establish a full-scale conflict. The government is also aware of the serious repercussions a conflict like this would have, Prof. Kim said.

The most recent argument over alleged helicopter flights will most likely continue to be a “verbal fight,” according to Prof. Nam Sung-wook, who teaches North Korean research at Korea University in Seoul.

The likelihood of actually using nuclear weapons is low because Seoul and Pyongyang are aware of the cost of a full-fledged battle, according to Prof. Nam.

What is the great picture?

Since they did not sign a peace agreement when the Korean War ended in 1953, the two Koreas are essentially however at war.

Reuniting with the South had always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North’s ideology since the inception of the state – until Kim abandoned reunification with the South in January.

Kim has brought North Korea closer to Russia under Vladimir Putin, placing him at odds with the US and the West, which are South Korea’s key allies.

Also significant are North Korea’s long-standing ties with China, arguably its most important ally. In the wake of the drone incident, a spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday called on all parties “to avoid further escalation of conflicts” on the peninsula.

As the US national strategy approaches the home stretch, tensions are rising on the Korean peninsula.