JCS: "North Korea Builds Anti-Tank Trenches and Earthworks on East Sea and Gyeongui Line Explosion Roads"

Anti-tank ditch 160m wide and 10m long
Filled with soil in emergencies to be reused as a North Korean invasion route

It has been confirmed that North Korea has constructed structures intended to block tanks on the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line, where the roads were blown up.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 4th, North Korea has been deploying 300 to 400 personnel and heavy equipment daily at the sites of the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line since the explosions on the 15th of last month until the 1st of this month, continuing their work. Through this work, 'anti-tank ditches'?trenches meant to block tank movement?and earthen mounds (embankments) were created side by side on the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line.

The anti-tank ditch on the Donghae Line measures 160 meters left to right, 10 meters front to back, and 5 meters deep, while the earthen mound north of the ditch is about 11 meters high. The anti-tank ditch on the Gyeongui Line is similar in size to that on the Donghae Line but shallower at about 3 meters deep. The earthen mound north of the Gyeongui Line ditch measures approximately 120 meters left to right, 50 meters front to back, and 11 meters high. Trees have been planted on top of the earthen mounds on both the Donghae Line and Gyeongui Line.

On the 1st, North Korea was observed by our military surveillance equipment hanging the North Korean flag (Ingan-gi) on top of the Donghae Line earthen mound, taking photographs, and then promptly removing the flag. The military believes that in the event of an emergency, North Korea could quickly fill the anti-tank ditch by pushing the soil from the mound into the ditch, thereby creating a route for a southern invasion.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official stated, "From the North Korean military's perspective, this is not a war obstacle and has no military utility," adding, "The overall work process appears to be a show to mark this area as their territory." The North Korean military completed this work as of the 1st, and currently, no working personnel are observed around the two locations.