N.K. leader's sister, military marshal inspect border fortification site

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, and a military marshal have inspected fortification work along the border with South Korea, according to state media Wednesday.

Pak Jong-chon, an adviser to the North's Ministry of National Defense, inspected key positions along the southern border the previous day to review progress on a project to fortify the border, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

During the inspection, Pak accused the enemy of making "deliberate, premeditated and absurd" claims that North Korean troops had crossed the border.

"Our army knows where our borderline is better than any others, and we are doing what we should do in our territory," he was quoted as saying.

Pak urged troops to "turn the borderline into an impregnable fortress," and warned them to take prompt and decisive action if enemy forces threatened the safety of North Korean service personnel.

Kim Yo-jong, a department director at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the North's leader issued "an order to fortify the border with an enemy state to be eternally impregnable," according to the KCNA.

North Korea began fortifying the inter-Korean border in April 2024, reinforcing barbed-wire fences, planting mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), after leader Kim declared the two Koreas to be "two states hostile to each other" the previous year.

Tensions have heightened following land mine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last month that injured three South Korean soldiers. South Korea has attributed the explosions to mines planted by North Korea, which has denied involvement.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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