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An overgrown border proves curtain-twitching North Korea is retreating into nuclear paranoia

Weeds now sprout through the pebbled ground on the North Korean side of the military demarcation line (MDL)
Weeds now sprout through the pebbled ground on the North Korean side of the military demarcation line (MDL)

On the demilitarised border between North and South Korea, the only sign of activity on the northern side after Pyongyang’s audacious missile test over Japan on Tuesday morning was the twitching of white curtains in the windows lining the austere Phanmun Pavilion.

The two-storey North Korean headquarters overlooks the low blue huts of the “Joint Security Area” (JSA) where North and South Korean soldiers traditionally stand face-to-face.

But officers with the UN Command, the multinational military force stationed at the borderzone, said North Korea’s military personnel had barely been spotted since the outbreak of Covid-19, barring a few appearances in bright orange hazmat suits.

Weeds now sprout through the pebbled ground on the North Korean side of the military demarcation line (MDL), marked by the long, narrow block where former US President Donald Trump made history in 2019 by becoming the first sitting American leader to step over from South to North.

That brief meeting was the last in a series of historic summits between Kim Jong Un, Mr Trump and then South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, that had raised hopes of the reclusive regime’s nuclear disarmament.

Now, alongside Pyongyang’s escalating missile launches this year, the messy undergrowth and unwashed windows of the blue huts that have long served as negotiating rooms, are another sign of unfulfilled expectations for peace. The imposing wooden table inside the T2 conference hut lies beautifully polished but unused.

North Korea has test-fired an unprecedented 37 missile launches this year amid a deterioration of relations between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington, including a suspected hypersonic weapon and attempted intercontinental ballistic missile that would be capable of hitting mainland America.

Five tests have been conducted over the past week, culminating in Tuesday’s launch of an intermediate-range missile over Japan - the first such flight since 2017 and, at 4,600 km, the longest distance ever travelled by a North Korean missile.

Despite the raised tensions, Lt Colonel Griff Hofman, an officer with the UN Command said the force’s purpose was to keep the situation on the border calm.

“Our whole purpose here is to deescalate and to keep things from escalating,” he told the Telegraph while standing next to the MDL.

“If we don’t see anything over there - directly across - that makes us nervous, our increasing posture or tightening up here could be seen as escalatory and cause them to respond to it.”

But while there is no indication of conflict along the demilitarised zone separating North and South, nor is there any current prospect of progress towards peace.

Just four years ago, a symbolic walk and private conversation between President Moon and Kim Jong Un along a blue footbridge at the JSA buoyed spirits on the Korean Peninsula.

Now it remains under repair, its wooden slats broken and rotting.

In the distance, a North Korean flag could be seen fluttering peacefully on a giant flagpole. But it is framed by the Kaesong Heights, a mountain range containing artillery directed at Seoul.

There has been a sharp uptick in North Korean missile launches this year as frustrations mount in Pyongyang over punishing international sanctions that have endured since the collapse of peace talks in 2019 and Kim Jong Un doubles down on his ambitions to establish his pariah country as a nuclear state.

Tensions have risen in recent months between North and South Korea, with Pyongyang stepping up its threatening rhetoric since the election of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who promised during his campaign to take a harder line against the North, even while keeping the door open to talks.

Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean president, vowed on October 4, that there would be a 'stern response' to North Korea's latest test of an intermediate range ballistic missile, which flew over Japan - AFP
Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean president, vowed on October 4, that there would be a 'stern response' to North Korea's latest test of an intermediate range ballistic missile, which flew over Japan - AFP

At the same time, relations appear to be warming between North Korea, Russia and China, enabling Kim’s increasing provocation.

Last month, his rubberstamp parliament passed a new law to make the country’s nuclear status “irreversible,” overtly ruling out future talks on disarmament.

The new legislation allows the regime to “automatically and immediately” use preventive nuclear strikes to protect leader Kim Jong-un if it feels he or the country is facing any kind of foreign threat.

North Korea’s toughening stance is driven in part by its anger towards the resumption of major joint military drills between the US and South Korea, but analysts say Kim’s latest moves also indicate his paranoia over outside attempts at regime change.

More turbulence may be on the horizon.

Last week, South Korea’s politicians, briefed by national intelligence, warned Pyongyang’s 7th nuclear test could be conducted ahead of the US November mid-term elections.

The 4km buffer zone between North and South Korea was originally created for 90 days, to allow the two sides time to negotiate a permanent Peace Treaty after the 1950-53 Korean War.

That Peace Treaty was not forthcoming. Now, more than 70 years later, there is little hope of a resolution in sight.