Seoul: North Korea has constructed sections of anti-tank barriers spanning 10 kilometers along the fraught inter-Korean border, a South Korean official reported Tuesday. This move is perceived as part of North Korea's ongoing efforts to sever ties with South Korea.

According to Qatar News Agency, North Korea has erected four clusters of anti-tank barriers, each measuring 2.5 kilometers, north of the Military Demarcation Line in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This information was revealed by Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party, who cited satellite imagery and data submitted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The anti-tank barriers reportedly stand about four to five meters tall and include a two-meter-wide concrete wall facing southward, supported by mounds of earth on the opposite side. Yu remarked that these structures are symbolic of North Korea's 'two hostile states' policy, urging the military to consider these obstacles in its operational planning.

In December 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un characterized inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other," vowing to avoid reconciliation and unification with the South. Since then, the North has stationed troops within its side of the DMZ, engaged in activities such as planting mines, erecting anti-tank barriers, and reinforcing barbed wire fences.