By Anadolu staff
North Korea has notified the US-led UN Command (UNC) of its plans to build fortifications inside the border between the two Koreas, Yonhap news reported on Monday, citing South Korea's Defense Ministry.
It marked the first notification of its kind in more than six months.
Pyongyang informed the multinational command tasked with monitoring inter-Korean border activities that it would resume construction of barriers and barbed wire fences on its side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
An unnamed official of South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed the development, while a UNC official declined to comment about its communication with the North Korean military.
The ministry said the notification could be seen as a "meaningful" message in relation to easing inter-Korean tensions, however, it was too soon to make a judgment.
The UNC said Pyongyang's delivering prior notifications in general is "useful" to mitigate risk of misinterpretation and miscalculation.
Since last April, North Korea has deployed troops to the DMZ to plant mines, erect apparent anti-tank barriers and reinforce roads.
In October, Pyongyang unveiled that it had informed the UNC it would cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea and build defense structures before blowing up cross-border roads once seen as symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation.
The development came after South Korea's newly-elected president, Lee Jae Myung, vowed to mend strained inter-Korean ties.
Some South Korean observers viewed the move as a possible sign of Pyongyang's willingness to engage in communication with Seoul.
*Writing by Aamir Latif