North Korea Blows Up Joint Liaison Office With South Korea

North Korea has blown up its joint offices with South Korea situated near the border of the two countries in the town of Kaesong. It is estimated the explosion took place at 2:50 p.m. KST local time.

What Happened: Tensions between North Korea and South Korea have been escalating due to defector groups in the South sending propaganda across the border using a leaflet campaign.

Pyongyang is reportedly furious at Seoul's failure to halt the air-dropping of propaganda over the border into the North. This latest move by North Korea is being called the most serious provocation in years and follows an escalating series of threats against South Korea.

Nuclear Diplomacy At Risk: The office in Kaesong was opened back in 2018 and handles inter-Korean relations. North Korea's nuclear program is a huge concern for the international community.

Over the years, Pyongyang says it has conducted a number of nuclear tests.

In order to launch a nuclear attack on its neighbors, North Korea would need to be able to make a nuclear warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, reports the BBC.

North Korea claims it has successfully "miniaturized" nuclear warheads, but international experts doubt the claims.

U.S. President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2019 at the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

There was hope that relations between North Korea and South Korea had improved, but this seems to no longer be the case. 

Photo by Mauricio Moreno via Wikimedia.