A mural on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone shows the South Korea, U.N. Command and American flags on May 9, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — North Korea has informed U.N. Command of plans to resume construction projects alongside its side of the Demilitarized Zone, a move South Korean officials said aims to avoid accidental military clashes.
While Pyongyang’s specific intentions remain unclear, the prior notification represents a “meaningful message,” South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jeon Ha Gyu said during a press briefing Monday.
North Korea told U.N. Command on June 25 it would resume erecting barriers and wire fencing along the border, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported Monday, citing unidentified government sources.
The report did not specify how North Korea communicated its plans to the command, which oversees enforcement of the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. The command is composed of 18 member states and is headquartered at Camp Humphreys, about 40 miles south of Seoul.
Roughly 1,000 North Korean troops began construction activities near the border last week, said Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lee said the number is significantly lower than the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 North Korean troops who conducted similar activities at the DMZ last year.
Although many of Pyongyang’s military activities, such as ballistic missile tests, are carried out without prior notice, it has occasionally alerted U.N. Command in advance, including ahead of the unilateral demolition of inter-Korean railways and roads in October.
U.N. Command declined to elaborate on the North’s latest communication in an unattributed statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.
“We note that delivering prior notifications is useful for mitigating the risk of misinterpretation and miscalculation, and it is a practice that UNC undertakes and encourages as part of risk reduction efforts,” the statement said.
North Korea routinely dispatches troops to the border to improve its defenses, including laying down anti-personnel mines. Some of these operations have escalated tensions.
On June 11, South Korean forces fired warning shots after about 20 North Korean troops carrying tools briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The North Koreans quickly retreated, and no injuries were reported by the South’s military.
