DPRK to sever road, railway connections with South Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will completely cut off all road and railway connections with South Korea beginning Wednesday amid the precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA) was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as saying.

In a statement published by the KCNA, the KPA General Staff stressed that the gravity of the situation on the peninsula can not be overlooked, with daily military exercises staged in the South Korean region near the DPRK's southern border, with the frequent presence of U.S. strategic nuclear assets, and with the repeated talk about the "end of the regime" in the DPRK.

The acute military situation on the peninsula requires the DPRK armed forces to take more powerful measures to effectively defend the country's national security, KPA General Staff said.

To this end, a project will be launched first on Oct 9 to completely cut off all roads and railways connected to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and fortify the relevant areas of the DPRK side with strong defense structures, it noted.

The move is "a self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security of the DPRK," according to the KPA General Staff.

DPRK to sever road, railway connections with South Korea

DPRK to sever road, railway connections with South Korea

DPRK to sever road, railway connections with South Korea

DPRK to sever road, railway connections with South Korea

Protesters took to the streets of the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Wednesday, urging the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The U.S. launched a military strike on Venezuela on Jan. 3, forcibly taking the South American country's president and his wife and placing them in custody in New York, an action that has drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

"We insist on taking to the streets. All social movements and all political forces are defending the homeland. We will continue protesting and demand that the U.S. empire return our commander, our president," said protester Roni Campero.

"Everyone here voted for Maduro. We want him to return home safely," said protester Esperanza Olavarria.

The demonstrators said they believe U.S. efforts to destabilize the country will fail.

"The United States wants a civil war to happen here, but it hasn't succeeded. We are still standing firm and will continue fighting to the end," said protester Maria Hinojosa.

Venezuelans rally in Caracas, demand US release President Maduro