PANMUNJOM, North Korea — Most roads in rural North Korea are little more than dirt tracks, unpaved and constantly maintained by workers shoveling earth to fill ruts and holes.
Not this one.
Just south of Pyongyang, the paved highway suddenly grows to the width of an airport runway — which is exactly what the road is intended to be.
As the borderline of this secretive and highly militarized state approaches, it is clear the deep tunnels and four wide stretches of perfect road surface serve a dual purpose.
Just as rulers have built roads wide enough for marching armies since Roman times, so the road towards South Korea is made for warplanes and tanks.
If arriving in North Korea is like stepping back to the 1970s, then coming to the border is stepping back to 1953.
It is frozen in time to reflect the front lines and power balance at the end of the three-year Korean War, a conflict paused at this spot by the signing of the armistice.
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