Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korea's military has announced plans to cut off all road and rail connections with South Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported on Wednesday.

The North Korean general staff said the border will also be reinforced with "strong defense structures," and the measures will take effect immediately, state-controlled KCNA news agency reported.

These actions, North Korea says, are aimed at safeguarding national security and preventing war.

The state media reported that the North Korean army sent a telephone message "to the US forces side" at 9:45 AM local time to avoid any misunderstandings or "accidental conflict over the fortification process."

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The South Korean military said that in recent months, North Korea had already laid tens of thousands of landmines along the border.

North Korea's closure of the remaining road and rail links is considered largely symbolic, as there has been no direct exchange across the heavily militarized border between the two countries for several years.

However, this wasn't always the case. During a brief period of reconciliation in the early 2000s, North Korea opened the Kaesong special zone, where South Korean companies employed North Korean workers to produce goods like textiles. North Korea also welcomed thousands of South Korean tourists to the scenic Kumgang Mountains.

The tone has since shifted. At a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party at the end of 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un described inter-Korean relations as being between two warring states. He also called for South Korea to be designated as the main enemy in the country's constitution.

The two countries have since been trading tit-for-tat provocations over the border, while Pyongyang continues to develop its weapons arsenal.