N. Korea threatens South

This item appears on page 4 of the August 2020 issue.

Angry over defectors in South Korea floating balloons carrying literature over the border, North Korea destroyed most avenues of communication with South Korea, severing hotlines on June 8 and then, on June 16, blowing up a joint liaison office in the city of Kaesong, near the border with South Korea. The office had been built by South Korea in 2018 as a place to hold high-level meetings between the two countries.

Much of the recent activity has been ordered by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un; she has become increasingly powerful in the country’s government. On June 18, Yo Jong threatened to position thousands of North Korean troops along the demilitarized zone, threatening a “military action.” Jong Un suspended that order on June 24 but left open the possibility for future troop increases on the border.