North Korea building walls along border with South Korea: Media

SEOUL – North Korea is constructing walls and digging roads on its side of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) along the border with South Korea, Yonhap News reported on June 15.

The construction has been taking place recently inside parts of the 2km-wide area between the northernmost edge of the DMZ and the military demarcation line (MDL), which divides the peninsula, Yonhap said, citing an unidentified military source.

North Korea’s motive remains unclear, and Yonhap did not say how high or wide the walls were.

Earlier in June,

South Korean troops fired warning shots

after some North Korean soldiers carrying picks and shovels briefly trespassed the MDL, which might have to do with the construction, Yonhap said.

Relations between the two countries remain tense after

North Korea recently floated trash-filled balloons

into the South ,and Seoul retaliated by saying it would turn on loudspeakers that blare out propaganda in the area.

The two Koreas position hundreds of thousands of troops and the bulk of their firepower near the border. BLOOMBERG