North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to build a wall

While North Korea celebrates its 76th anniversary, ruler Kim Jong Un is sealing off his country more and more. He is building a wall along the South Korean border, laying mines and setting up guard posts. Despite this, two North Koreans manage to make a dangerous escape from the highly secured country in August.

The border between North and South Korea is practically insurmountable. Meter-high fences with barbed wire separate the two countries. In addition, there are tank traps, mines in the ground and soldiers patrolling almost 250 kilometers across the Korean peninsula. Between the fences lies a four-kilometer-wide buffer, the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

Attempts to escape across the heavily guarded border are dangerous and rare. Nevertheless, a North Korean has now managed to cross it spectacularly. In August, a North Korean soldier escaped to South KoreaAccording to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the sergeant crossed the border into the Goseong region on the east coast. The South Korean army intercepted him on a coastal road. It was the first escape by a soldier since 2019.

Fewer North Koreans flee

North Korean soldiers suffer under the harsh conditions in the military, reports the Wall Street JournalSeveral people have already died in mine explosions or during the expansion of border installations.

North Koreans work on a military fence on the inter-Korean border. North Koreans work on a military fence on the inter-Korean border.

North Koreans work on a military fence on the inter-Korean border.

(Photo: REUTERS)

It is the second escape within a few weeks. At the beginning of August, a North Korean fled across the sea border to South Korea. The civilian had walked to the South Korean island of Gyodong on the west coast at low tide, Yonhap reports. In May 2023, a family of nine fled in a wooden boat.

This year, 105 people managed to escape from North to South Korea. Last year, there were not even 200Many more people have fled the Corona pandemic: over 1,000 per year.

However, most North Korean refugees come to the neighboring country via China or other countries without a direct border with North Korea. There are more elite defectors than in years – among others, diplomats and students from abroad are coming to South Korea, according to the South Korean Ministry of Education.

Defectors, their family members or people connected with the incident are severely punished in North Korea. They face internment in one of the notorious labor camps.

Floods destroy harvest

The population is suffering – this is also shown by the spectacular escapes and escape attempts. The North Koreans are fleeing the terrible conditions in the country.

There is a lack of food and many people are chronically malnourished. People are said to have died in the north of the country in February as a result, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry. The economy is doing poorly, the human rights situation is catastrophic and child mortality is high.

The extreme rainfall in July has made the situation even worse. The harvest is therefore likely to be significantly lower. Rainfall has damaged fields and, according to the World Food Organization, has led to waterlogging in rice and corn fields. In addition, there is a possible pest infestation due to the heat of up to 37 degrees Celsius in August. Because a lot of forest is being cut down in North Korea, it is considered particularly vulnerable to flooding.

Several sections of the wall spotted

To prevent North Koreans from leaving the country, the regime has tightened security measures in recent years. During the pandemic, it built new fences and watchtowers. Anyone trying to flee across the northern border with China may be shot at by border guards. Ruler Kim Jong Un has rearmed guard posts and laid more landmines. At the beginning of August, 250 ballistic missile launchers were handed over to the military units on the southern border.

Several thousand North Korean soldiers are said to have been brought to the border since April to lay mines and build anti-tank barriers.

Kim also wants to build a wall on the border with South Korea. The North Korean military has built walls and new roads within the DMZ, reported Yonhap Mid-June. It is still unclear whether a long wall or several defensive structures will be built there.

The BBC evaluated corresponding satellite images a few days later. There are several sections of the wall, reports Jake Horton from the verification team. “We have identified several structures that were only recently built and extend over a plot of land of about one kilometer. These barriers are located at the eastern end of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.” The exact date of the start of construction is unclear. The barrier was clearly not present in images from 2023.

“We have also found evidence that land has been cleared within the North Korean-controlled side of the DMZ,” says Horton. According to experts, this is unusual so close to the border. It could have a military background and thus violate the ceasefire between the two Koreas. The clearing allows the South Korean guards along the DMZ to be better observed, reports the website NK NewsThey may also make it more difficult for North Korean soldiers to escape to the South.

Garbage balloons and loud noise

The mood between North and South Korea is getting worse. At the beginning of the year, Kim Jong Un described the South as the “main enemy” and wants to enshrine the term in the constitution. He threatened the neighboring country with annihilation. Experts are warning of war.

Since May, North Korea has over 3800 balloons loaded with garbage sent to South Korea: It contains cigarette butts, fabric scraps, waste paper, empty batteries, liquid manure and feces. One even hit the presidential office.

In response to the garbage shipments, South Korea suspended a 2018 military agreement with North Korea. And it is bombarding its socialist neighbor with loud pop music and propaganda. In July, South Korea set up huge loudspeaker towers on the border for this purpose.

Psychological warfare, which North Korea is familiar with. However, it recently switched off its own loudspeaker broadcasts at the border. The media sees a connection between these incidents and the escape cases of the past few months.

“Putting human rights activists under pressure”

North Korea’s balloons were revenge for flying aid messages from South Korea. Activists repeatedly send balloons across the border to show the isolated people what the world outside looks like – with anti-communist leaflets, money, medicine or USB sticks with South Korean pop music. “Sending back garbage and dirt is a barbaric act,” said the Founder of the group, who himself fled North Korea over 20 years ago, at ntv.

North Korea wants to keep information from abroad away from its population. “It should be as unpleasant as possible for the people in South Korea who live in the border area, so that in the future they might put pressure on human rights activists not to send any more information,” says Nicolai Sprekels from “SARAM – Foundation for Human Rights in North Korea” on ntv.

A few North Koreans still go abroad, even though borders are becoming increasingly more tightly secured and China sent hundreds of North Koreans back to their homeland last year. This does not seem to deter defectors from making dangerous escape attempts.

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