North Korea is building something that appears to be a wall at several locations near the border with South Korea, according to new satellite images as reported by the BBC.
The images show several sections where barriers have been erected near the demilitarised zone (DMZ), and stretch for approximately one kilometre near the eastern end of the border.
The wall sections are around two to three metres high and were built at some point since November 2023. The activity is considered unusual according to several experts spoken to by the British public service company.
The satellite images also show that North Korea has cleared away forest along the border.
It makes it possible for North Korea to more easily observe and monitor military activities in South Korea and to detect defectors attempting to cross the border to South Korea, says Kil Joo-Ban, security researcher at Goryeo Daehakgyo University in Seoul.
Early on Friday morning Swedish time, the South Korean military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers temporarily crossed the border line in the heavily monitored demilitarised zone between the two countries, according to the South Korean military.
North Korea has reinforced its side of the border in recent months, including building roads and laying more landmines. The latter has, according to Seoul, resulted in bloodshed among the neighbouring country's soldiers due to accidental explosions.
According to the military in the south, the soldiers who crossed the border turned back after the warning shots. The incident is the third of its kind within two weeks.
Relations between the countries are worse than they have been in several years. Earlier in the week, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un met with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, a meeting that resulted in a new security pact between the countries.
