North Korea Blows Up Joint Liaison Office Of Kaesong After Declaring South Korea Its 'Enemy'

Explosion heard, smoke seen in North Korean border city Kaesong according to news agency Yonhap

Smoke seen at the border of North Korea. (Source: Yonhap/ Twitter)

New Delhi: Smoke rose and an explosion was heard from the region near the inter-Korean industrial complex in the border town of Kaesong in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. North Korea has blown up the inter-Korean liaison office in its border town of Kaesong according to the Unification Ministry as reported by AFP. South Korea's Unification Ministry in Seoul confirmed that at 2.49 pm local time there was an explosion at the liaison office. Smoke was seen and an explosion was heard from the region earlier in the day, the military sources said, adding they are trying to determine exactly what happened. On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, warned that South Korea will witness, before long, a "tragic scene of the useless North-South joint liaison office completely collapsed." The North has been lashing out at the South for failing to stop defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border via balloons. The liaison office was launched in September 2018 to facilitate inter-Korean exchange and cooperation amid a reconciliatory mood created by summit talks between their leader. The two Koreas had suspended its operation since early January over concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, North Korea defined South Korea as an "enemy" and vowed to cut off all communication lines in anger over leaflets sent by activists in South Korea.