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North Korea Demolishes De Facto Embassy with South

William Gallo

   SEOUL - North Korea has followed through on its threat to demolish the
   de facto inter-Korean embassy just north of the border, Pyongyang's
   latest move to ratchet up tensions with Seoul.

   South Korean media reported a loud explosion and smoke Tuesday near the
   Kaesong industrial complex, which houses the inter-Korean liaison
   office. A few minutes later, Seoul's Unification Ministry, which
   handles inter-Korean relations, confirmed the building had been blown
   up.

   North Korean state media also confirmed that the facility was destroyed
   by what it called a "terrific explosion."

   Though the destruction of the liaison office is a blow to Seoul, the
   move was primarily symbolic, since the office had been nonfunctional
   for months. South Korean staff left the facility in late January due to
   coronavirus concerns.

   Over the past week, North Korean officials had repeatedly threatened to
   destroy what they called the "useless" office, which was set up in 2018
   as part of a series of agreements meant to improve cooperation and
   dialogue between the two Koreas.

   North Korea is ostensibly angry at South Korea for not doing more to
   stop defectors and other activists from floating anti-Pyongyang
   leaflets and other materials across the border. Pyongyang has dismissed
   Seoul's aggressive steps to stop the leaflet launches and ban such
   activity. Instead, the North has threatened a series of retaliatory
   steps.

   "This is a staged provocation cycle rather than a one-off response to
   NGO leaflets," says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor atEwhaUniversity in
   Seoul. "The Kim regime is also signaling the United States won't have
   the luxury of keeping North Korea on the back-burner for the remainder
   of the year."

   Push for concessions

   North Korea has a long history of periodically ramping up tensions in
   order to extract economic and other concessions from the South.
   Currently, Pyongyang is frustrated that Seoul has been unwilling to
   push ahead with improving inter-Korean ties.

   In 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President
   Moon Jae-in held three meetings, where they agreed to reduce tensions,
   expand dialogue, and interact economically.

   But implementation of those deals has been complicated by international
   sanctions over North Korea's nuclear program. The UnitedStateshas been
   unwilling to relax the sanctions unless North Korea agrees to give up
   its entire nuclear program.

   By threatening South Korea, the North appears to be using Seoul to
   pressure Washington over the stalled nuclear negotiations. The North
   Korean provocations may also be designed to increase tensions between
   the U.S. and South Korea.

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