N. Korea threatens South

Angry over defectors in South Korea floating balloons carrying literature over the border, North Korea destroyed most avenues of communication with South Korea, severing hotlines on June 8 and then, on June 16, blowing up a joint liaison office in the city of Kaesong, near the border with South Korea. The office had been built by South Korea in 2018 as a place to hold high-level meetings between the two countries.

Much of the recent activity has been ordered by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un; she has become increasingly powerful in the country’s government. On June 18, Yo Jong threatened to position thousands of North Korean troops along the demilitarized zone, threatening a “military action.” Jong Un suspended that order on June 24 but left open the possibility for future troop increases on the border.