SEOUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - North Korea is preparing to blow up roads crossing its heavily militarized border with South Korea, Seoul said on Monday amid an escalating war of words after the North accused its rival of sending drones over its capital Pyongyang.
North Korean troops were working in camouflage on roads on its side of the border near the west and east coasts and were likely preparing to blow up the roads, possibly as early as Monday, South Korea's military spokesman said.
Last week, the North Korean army said it would completely cut off roads and railway lines connecting to South Korea and fortify areas on its side of the border, state news agency KCNA reported.
Separately, North Korea on Friday accused South Korea of sending drones to scatter a "huge number" of anti-North leaflets over Pyongyang, calling it a political and military provocation that could lead to armed conflict.
Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined on Monday to answer questions about whether the South Korean military or civilians flew the drones.
In further statements over the weekend, North Korea warned of a "terrible disaster" if South Korean drones were again flown over Pyongyang. On Sunday, North Korea said it had put eight fully armed artillery units on standby along the border to open fire.
The South Korean military has said it refuses to answer questions about the drones because responding to the North's claims would mean Pyongyang is engaging in a tactic of fabricating pretexts for provocations.
According to Lee, South Korea has been trying to strengthen its drone defenses since 2022, when five North Korean drones entered its airspace and flew over the capital Seoul for several hours.
Lee Kyoung-haing, an expert on military drone operations at Jungwon University, said civilians would have no trouble getting drones with a range of 300 km (186 miles), the round-trip flight from the South to Pyongyang, carrying light payloads such as leaflets.
On Sunday, North Korea's Defense Ministry said the drones, spotted over Pyongyang on three days earlier this month, required a special launch device or runway and that it was impossible for a civilian group to launch them.
The two Koreas are technically still at war after their 1950-53 war ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.
The cross-border ties are a holdover from times of rapprochement between the two countries, including a 2018 summit where the two leaders declared there would be no more war and a new era of peace had begun.
North Korea has reintroduced heavy weapons into the Demilitarized Zone and set up guard posts after both sides declared a military agreement aimed at reducing tensions null and void in 2018.
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