North Korea Has to Pay Back Loan for Roads It Just Blew Up

In a symbolic display of anger, North Korea on Tuesday blew up the northern section of unused roads that once linked it with the South, per the AP. The roads' choreographed demolition underlines North Korea's growing anger against South Korea's conservative government. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to sever relations with South Korea and abandon the goal of achieving peaceful Korean unification. Observers say it's unlikely Kim will launch a preemptive, large-scale attack on South Korea because of fear that an almost certain massive retaliation by the more superior forces of the United States and South Korea would threaten Pyongyang's survival.

In response to the explosions, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said its military fired within southern sections of the border as it bolstered its readiness and surveillance posture. The statement did not give details, but the move could have been an attempt to avert cross-border fire by North Korea. It wasn't immediately known whether North Korea responded. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles affairs with North Korea, separately condemned the North's detonations as a "highly abnormal" and "regressive" measure that violates previous inter-Korean agreements. North Korea has a history of staging the choreographed destruction of facilities on its own soil as a political message.

Destroying the roads, which were mainly built with South Korean money, would be in line with leader Kim Jong Un's order in January to abandon the goal of peaceful Korean unification and formally designate South Korea as the country's "invariable principal enemy." Experts say Kim likely aims to diminish South Korea's voice in the regional nuclear standoff and seek direct dealings with the US. Kim may also hope to diminish South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule at home. The South Korean Unification Ministry said the roads and the rail links were built with South Korean materials and equipment worth $132.9 million provided in the form of loans, and the North is still obligated to pay back the aid. (More North Korea stories.)