Footage released by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense shows the moment North Korea blew up roads connecting it to South Korea.

It comes after Pyongyang vowed last week to cut off the roads and railways once seen as symbols of inter-Korean cooperation, in a bid to “completely separate” the two countries.

The Korean People’s Army (KPA) described the move as “a self-defensive measure for inhibiting war”, claiming it was in response to war exercises in South Korea and the frequent presence of American nuclear assets in the region.

It marks an escalation of hostility at a time when tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years.

Following the explosions, the South Korean military said it had fired on its side of the border in a show of force, and heightened surveillance of the North.