North Korea; South Korea: The appearance of North Korean artillery pieces pointed towards South Korea has raised concern among visitors to a border observatory, as tensions between the two countries intensify.
Three armoured vehicles with their gun barrels facing south were visible near the frontier by Monday, according to a Reuters witness. South Korean media had photographed one vehicle in the area on Friday.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency identified the three vehicles on Monday as self-propelled 122-mm howitzers, describing their deployment as a rare public display of such artillery.
The developments come amid a series of exchanges between the two Koreas and a strengthening of military postures along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since September. Tensions rose after a mine blast in the area wounded three South Korean soldiers. Seoul has demanded an apology from Pyongyang, which has accused South Korea of fabricating the incident.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Thursday that Pyongyang would place loudspeakers capable of broadcasting anti-South Korean propaganda on standby along the entire border within days. She also said unspecified new countermeasures had been put on alert.
The military developments have caused concern among people visiting sites overlooking North Korea.
Jang Gil-seong, an 83-year-old Vietnam War veteran, said seeing the artillery in person had made the threat feel more immediate. He was speaking outside the Aegibong observatory, around 1.4 km from North Korea's Kaephung county.
“I'd only seen on TV that North Korea had deployed 122-mm artillery, but seeing the area in person makes me realise just how real the danger is,” he said.
“I'm really concerned about how much South Korea will need to do to prepare for and respond to this threat in the future,” he added.
The DMZ continues to attract local and foreign tourists despite periodic flare-ups in tensions between the two countries, which remain technically at war.
Hannah Robbins, a 28-year-old tourist from Canada, said she had learnt about the artillery deployment from her tour guide at the observatory.
“We're a bit scared obviously,” she said. “The tour guide was like 'don't worry, they won't shoot' but then it's a bit of a worry that we have right now.”
