Tony Abbott criticises North Korea during visit to heavily fortified demilitarised zone

Updated

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has labelled North Korea an "outlaw state which is a threat to world peace" during a visit to the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.

North Korea recently test-fired 30 short-range rockets off its east coast and there are reports the country's leader Kim Jong-un is purging perceived enemies.

South Korean media is reporting that a North Korean official has been executed with a flame thrower, and while the reports have not been confirmed they will do little to ease tensions between the neighbours.

Earlier this week South Korea's military said it had found an unidentified "drone" suspected to have flown from North Korea, following the discovery of two similar objects near the border in recent weeks.

Panmunjom - an abandoned village on the de facto border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that paused the Korean War was signed - is the place where North and South continue to face off.

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Mr Abbott experienced those tensions firsthand, walking within metres of the North Korean soldiers.

He ventured into the room that straddles the border and North Korean guards watched him with interest, some taking photos of the Australian leader.

"This is probably the tensest border on earth. On the South Korean side we have freedom, we have justice, we have democracy," he said.

"On the North Korean side, we have an outlaw state which is a threat to world peace and a deadly danger to the people of South Korea.

"Obviously, at a place like this at such a time it's important to remember the 17,000 Australian soldiers who participated in the Korean War.

"It's important to mourn the almost 400 who never returned. It's important to thank those who continue to guard our freedom - the United States forces and the Republic of Korea forces who continue to defend this border."

Mr Abbott's tour of the demilitarised zone comes after he signed a free trade deal with South Korea's president Park Geun-hye.

The agreement will see tariffs on primary products that range from about 15 per cent to more than 500 per cent removed.

The Prime Minister is on a week-long trade mission that has already seen him strike an agreement with Japan.

Mr Abbott is now heading to China, where he is hoping to secure a free trade trifecta.

Topics: abbott-tony, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, australia, korea-republic-of

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