According to reports, North Korea has effectively halted its so-called border marking operations conducted in the northern region of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) since late 2024. The South Korean military is analyzing North Korea’s intentions while monitoring the possibility of resuming these activities.
According to the office of Kang Dae Sik, a member of the South Korean National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently informed Kang’s office that “the so-called border marking operations involving thousands of personnel around the MDL have not been observed since late 2024.”
The agency explained that there have been no unusual movements related to border marking operations or troop redeployment near the MDL in recent months.
As of last month, the South Korean military had reported that North Korea had deployed between 5,000 and 10,000 personnel for border marking operations, including clearing barren land, building barriers, laying mines, and dismantling power transmission towers. North Korea apparently completed most of these operations by the final week of December.
The military previously assessed that North Korea might conclude the border marking operations due to challenges posed by the harsh winter and to highlight achievements during the Eighth Plenary Meeting of the 11th Central Committee held from December 23 to 27. The military stated that it is currently monitoring whether North Korea will resume construction activities for the border marking operations.
Although North Korea’s border marking operations have ceased mainly this year, some movements related to these activities have been detected in certain areas, suggesting that the country may resume final tasks once temperatures rise, according to the South Korean military.
Meanwhile, the DIA evaluated North Korea’s new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) test, launched on January 7. The agency stated that “the increased range and the absence of explosions during the flight phase distinguish this test from previous ones.” The agency also noted some technological progress in the missile’s development.
Since September 2021, North Korea has repeatedly conducted hypersonic ballistic missile tests, but it failed a test in June 2024.
However, the agency observed that “this test did not showcase significant technological advancements, such as prominent glide flight characteristics typical of hypersonic missiles,” concluding that North Korea will likely continue testing these systems.
The analysis also indicated that, contrary to North Korea’s claims, the missile failed to achieve a secondary peak altitude. This critical technology enables the Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) warhead to reenter and sustain low-altitude flights to reach its target.
The DIA reported that “during the Supreme People’s Assembly on October 9, 2024, North Korea replaced its Minister of Defense, General Kang Sun Nam, with General No Kwang Chol.” The agency added, “No other major changes in key military leadership have been identified.”