US, S. Korea, Japan condemn rising tensions on Korean Peninsula

[Anchor]

North Korea, which has blown up the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line roads, is internally emphasizing drone infiltration while receiving enlistment petitions from 1.4 million youths and students, heightening military tensions.

The three countries, South Korea, the United States, and Japan, have condemned the North for intentionally provoking tensions in unison.

Reporter Go Eun-hee has the story.

[Report]

Four years ago, North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office, citing North Korean leaflets as the issue, and reported this fact during regular news hours on the same day.

The next day, they even released video footage and focused on promoting the justification for the explosion.

In contrast, the North, which had quickly communicated the severance of inter-Korean relations then, is remaining silent.

North Korea has already been working on blocking the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line since the end of last year, but did not report on it.

They seem to have judged that there is no need to quickly announce this road explosion, and there is a possibility that they will announce it while monitoring the progress of fortification construction as previously stated.

[Oh Kyung-seop/Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification: "(The DPRK) can utilize this event whenever the regime needs it, so it could be used later in internal media or during some internal educational processes..."]

Instead, the North is focusing on inciting anti-South sentiment by highlighting claims of South Korean drones infiltrating Pyongyang, stating that over 1.4 million angry youths and students have submitted enlistment and re-enlistment petitions.

In response to the North's continued threats and provocations against the South, the three countries of South Korea, the United States, and Japan have decided to strengthen cooperation on security through diplomatic vice-ministerial consultations.

The diplomatic vice-ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan also defined the complete severance of inter-Korean land routes and claims of drone infiltration as intentional acts of provocation and strongly condemned them.

This is KBS News, Go Eun-hee.