North Korea is ready to blow up the roads that cross the border with the South in the middle of the drone line, says Seoul By Reuters

Written by Hyunsu Yim and Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea is preparing to blow up roads across the war-torn border with South Korea, Seoul said, as it escalated a war of words after North Korea accused its rival of sending drones into its capital Pyongyang.

North Korean soldiers have been operating covertly along the border roads near the west and east coasts, possibly in preparation for detonating the roads, possibly on Monday, a South Korean military spokesman said.

Last week, North Korea's military said it would completely cut roads and railways connecting South Korea and strengthen areas on its side of the border, state media KCNA reported.

Separately, North Korea on Friday accused South Korea of ​​sending drones to distribute “a large number” of anti-North leaflets in Pyongyang, in what it called a political and military coup that could lead to conflict.

Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined on Monday to answer questions about whether South Korean soldiers or civilians were flying the drones.

In other statements over the weekend, North Korea warned of a “terrible disaster” if South Korean planes were again found flying over Pyongyang. On Sunday, it said it had placed eight fully armed weapons along the border “on standby to open fire.”

South Korea's military has said its refusal to answer questions about the drones is to deal with what the North says will be a ploy by Pyongyang to make excuses for aggression.

South Korea wants to strengthen its anti-drone defenses from 2022, Lee said, when five North Korean drones entered its airspace and flew over the capital Seoul for several hours.

Lee Kyoung-haing, an expert on military aviation at Jungwon University, said civilians would have no problem finding drones that could fly 300 kilometers (186 miles), round trip from the South to Pyongyang, with small payloads such as leaflets.

On Sunday, North Korea's Defense Ministry said the drones, which it said were found in Pyongyang three days earlier this month, were of a type that required a special launcher or runway and were unlikely to be launched by a civilian group.

The two Koreas are at war after their 1950-53 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Connecting the borders is a remnant of the times of reconciliation between the countries including the 2018 summit between the leaders where they declared that there will be no more war and a new era of peace has been opened.

North Korea has also returned heavy weapons to the border of the Demilitarized Zone and reinstated security posts, after the two sides declared a 2018 military agreement aimed at reducing tensions no longer valid.