North Korea appears to be building walls near the DMZ, satellite images show

North Korea has started construction on what appears to be parts of the wall near the border with South Korea, new satellite images show.

The satellite images captured on June 17 and provided to CBS News by Planet Labs PBC show three white structures along the easternmost portion of the border. BBC Verify was the first to report on the new construction and satellite images.

The images also show that land has been cleared for an access road on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. There have been recent reports that North Korea has been clearing land in other parts of the DMZ as part of a tougher stance against the South.

Established in 1953, the DMZ is a 150-mile-long and 2.5-mile-wide buffer separating North and South Korea. It was established as part of the Korean Armistice Agreement. Since no peace treaty was ever signed, the two sides are technically still at war.

Dongsei Kim, an assistant professor at the New York Institute of Technology who has researched the DMZ, confirmed to CBS News that the cleared land and new road are within the original DMZ area. However, he said both sides have invaded this original territory several times in the past 70 years.

Although the exact date construction began is unclear, these structures and roads were not visible on satellite images as of November 2023.

The new images come just days after South Korean troops fired warning shots for the second time this month against North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message to the media.

The South Korean military has done just that said North Korea has stepped up construction activities in frontline border areas, including installing suspected anti-tank barriers, strengthening roads and planting landmines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week signed a strategic partnership agreement in Pyongyang as part of an effort to expand their military and economic cooperation. According to Russian media, the agreement included a pledge for “mutual assistance” in case of “aggression.”