South Korea has demanded a formal apology from North Korea after landmine explosions in the Demilitarised Zone injured three soldiers, as a United Nations investigation found an active North Korean anti-personnel mine on the southern side of the military demarcation line.
The blasts occurred on September 21 near the line in the western section of the heavily fortified border buffer zone. Seoul’s military said three soldiers were wounded in two explosions.
Kang Hyunwoo, director of operations at South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, said the incident was a violation of the armistice agreement and called on Pyongyang to take steps to prevent it happening again.
“This is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements; it must be stopped immediately,” he said on Wednesday, adding that South Korea “strongly urge[s] an apology and responsible measures”.
Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said Seoul would consider unspecified “corresponding measures” if a full investigation established that North Korea was responsible.
North Korea rejects South Korean assessment
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, rejected the assessment as a “conspiratorial farce”. She accused Seoul of making groundless claims to create a pretext for provocation against Pyongyang.
Kim also criticised South Korea for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops involved in fortification work near the front line. She said North Korean soldiers had never crossed the border.
“If the [South Korean] military gangsters fire at our soldiers carrying on the permanent project for the southern border, not warning shots, our border units will take immediate and merciless retaliatory action,” she said.
The United Nations Command said on Wednesday that, in a joint investigation with South Korea’s military, it had identified an active Democratic People’s Republic of Korea anti-personnel mine on the Republic of Korea side of the Military Demarcation Line.
“Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred,” it said.
The US-led United Nations Command is responsible for overseeing the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the Korean War and administers the southern side of the DMZ.
