North Korea has started building anti-tank barricade lines near the border with the South, the Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday, April 24 citing a Chinese TV channel, according to RIA Novosti.

China’s Beijing TV showed footage of North Korean servicemen building structures from logs, stones and concrete. The report said the barricades were possibly intended to hold South Korea’s tanks and other military vehicles in case of a war.

The report suggested that the country’s leadership might be preparing for a military conflict.

Tensions have risen sharply on the Korean Peninsula since December, when North Korea tested a long-range Taepodong 2 missile, and in February carried out its third nuclear test.

The UN responded with sanctions. The start of joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States last month further irritated the North, which threatened to carry out a nuclear attack on the US mainland, as well as on US forces in the region.

In recent weeks, North Korea recommended all foreigners on the peninsula to evacuate to avoid the threat of war.