North Korea announced a permanent blockade of the border with South Korea: To oppose the "aggressive hysteria"...

North Korea said it will permanently block its border with South Korea and strengthen border defenses to counter what it says is "aggressive hysteria" by South Korean and US forces, state news agency KCNA reported today.

The North Korean military said today it will "completely cut off roads and railways" connected to South Korea and reinforce relevant areas on the North Korean side with strong defense structures, the agency reported.

Those moves look like a pressure tactic, but it is not clear how they will affect relations with South Korea, since cross-border travel and exchanges have been suspended for years, the AP agency comments.

The North Korean military said it was a self-defense measure to prevent war and defend the country's security. The military said "enemy forces are becoming more reckless in their aggressive hysteria" citing various military exercises in South Korea, the deployment of US strategic equipment and tough rhetoric from its rivals.

South Korean officials have previously said that North Korea has already started adding anti-tank barriers and strengthening roads on its side of the border since April, trying to strengthen its border positions and prevent its soldiers and citizens from defecting to the South.

KCNA reported that at the session of the National Assembly, which ended on Tuesday, the new Minister of Defense, No Kwang Chol, was appointed, reports Agence France-Presse.

But the rank-and-file general already served as defense minister between 2018 and 2019 and is replacing Kang Sun Nam, KCNA said, without further details.

KCNA did not say whether leader Kim Jong Un's order in January to amend the constitution and remove the stated goal of peaceful unification of the two Koreas, officially labeling South Korea as North Korea's "undisputed arch-enemy," was discussed at the two-day assembly session. Earlier this year, Kim Jong Un ordered the repeal of provisions in the constitution related to Korean unification, and dissolved agencies tasked with improving ties with the South.

KCNA did not mention the repeal of those provisions from the constitution during the parliament session that ended yesterday.

What's more, this Sunday, Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang has "no intention of attacking the Republic of Korea", (the official name of South Korea), which some analysts interpret as a softening of his rhetoric, reports Agence France Presse.

Some experts say that North Korea may have just delayed amending the constitution, while others speculate that it did amend the constitution but did not announce it due to the sensitivity of the subject. Some believe that it is possible to wait for the results of the American elections in November, before there is a change of attitude towards Seoul, Washington's ally.