DMZ

Seoul has urged the North to remove any other mines planted on the southern side of the military demarcation line.

South Korea is weighing measures to force an apology from North Korea over a recent landmine blast that wounded three soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries, a Defence Ministry spokesperson has said.

A joint South Korean-United Nations investigation concluded on Monday that two landmines that exploded last month in the DMZ were planted by North Korean forces about a year ago, prompting Seoul to demand an official apology.

“We are not ruling out any options or prejudging anything when it comes to additional measures,” Defence Ministry spokeswoman Chung Bin-na told reporters on Tuesday when asked if steps were being planned to force an apology from Pyongyang.

Chung did not offer specifics about what actions might be employed.

Seoul has also called on nuclear-armed North Korea to remove any other mines planted on the southern side of the military demarcation line (MDL) that runs through the DMZ, the heavily fortified frontier that has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 Armistice Agreement.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility for the September 21 blast, with Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader, slamming the call for an apology as “despicable”.

Chung said Seoul is calling on ⁠Pyongyang to come ⁠to the table to ⁠discuss a misalignment of the MDL. Differing views of the border line are one factor contributing to tension in the area, she said.

The comments come a day after South Korea’s military carried out a mine-clearing operation south of the MDL. It pledged to continue with clearing operations in the area if Pyongyang fails to remove the remaining explosives. The United States-led UN Command (UNC) confirmed the mine placement violated the 1953 agreement.

Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told the Yonhap news agency on Tuesday that the military’s “decisive” response was “unprecedented in history”.

“All responsibility lies with North Korea,” Kang told reporters, adding that armed forces would “respond decisively” to any actions threatening national security.

The escalation comes as Pyongyang rejected diplomatic overtures from Seoul. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young proposed on October 2 that both sides jointly resurvey the MDL, noting that only about 200 of 1,292 original boundary markers remain intact and that Seoul and the UNC differ on roughly 60 percent of border coordinates.

Kim Yo Jong rejected the proposal as a “wild dream”, declaring Pyongyang would define its sovereign boundary “by the use of force, not by means of negotiation”.

South Korea calls for a formal apology from North Korea over the DMZ explosion that injured three soldiers.

South Korea’s military has demanded an apology from North Korea over landmine explosions earlier this month in the border zone between the two countries that wounded three soldiers.

Three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions on September 21 near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified border buffer zone between the Koreas that is commonly known as the DMZ.

Kang Hyunwoo, the South Korean joint chiefs of staff’s director of operations, said the military “strongly urges” North Korea to apologise for the blasts and take “responsible measures” to prevent a recurrence.

“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 “we strongly urge an apology and responsible measures”.

Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said South Korea would consider unspecified “corresponding measures” if a complete investigation confirms the North was responsible.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the South Korean assessment is a “conspiratorial farce” and accused Seoul of making groundless claims to create a pretext for provocation against Pyongyang.

She also criticised the South for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops conducting front-line fortification work, adding “our soldiers have 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 it had “identified an active Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s) anti-personnel mine on the ROK side of the Military Demarcation Line”, in a joint investigation with Seoul’s military.

“Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred,” it added.

The UN Command is a US-led multinational military force charged with overseeing the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the Korean War and administers the southern side of the DMZ.

South Korea has accused North Korea of planting mines that caused an explosion in the Demilitarized Zone last week, injuring two South Korean personnel and violating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.

South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the mines were North Korean and appeared to have been planted as part of Pyongyang’s efforts to strengthen its border defenses near the Military Demarcation Line that divides the DMZ.

Kang said the incident warranted a response from Seoul, although he declined to specify what measures the South Korean military might take.

Seoul Blames North Korea for the DMZ Explosion

“The responsibility lies with North Korea, so we will take corresponding measures,” Kang said, adding that the military had several response options and would implement them in stages.

He said a key question was whether North Korea had planted the mines knowing that South Korean troops could enter the area and potentially be injured.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said an investigation conducted jointly with the United Nations Command had also uncovered another North Korean resin anti personnel mine close to the site of the September 21 explosion.

The newly discovered mine was different from those believed to have caused last week’s blast.

Another Mine Found South of the Military Line

JCS Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-won said the mines did not appear to have drifted into the area where they were discovered.

The United Nations Command assessed that the additional mines were clearly located south of the Military Demarcation Line, according to South Korean officials.

The findings have heightened concerns about the dangers created by North Korea’s ongoing efforts to fortify its side of one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders.

The DMZ has remained a highly sensitive area since the 1953 armistice, with even limited incidents carrying the potential to trigger a broader military confrontation.

A New Mine Incident Revives Memories of 2015

The latest blast has echoes of a 2015 confrontation, when North Korean mines seriously injured South Korean soldiers inside the DMZ.

South Korea responded by restarting loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea across the border. Pyongyang condemned the broadcasts, and tensions escalated into a military standoff before the two sides reached a high level agreement.

The current incident is unfolding under different political circumstances, however, as Seoul is simultaneously attempting to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang.

South Korea’s Dialogue Push Faces a Fresh Challenge

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to encourage North Korea to return to dialogue after years of worsening relations.

Pyongyang has instead moved in the opposite direction, declaring South Korea an enemy state and abandoning its previous policy goal of peaceful reunification.

That shift has made military incidents along the border increasingly sensitive.

For Seoul, the challenge is to respond to the alleged mine deployment while avoiding measures that could further damage its efforts to restore communication with Pyongyang.

North Korea Remains Silent as Seoul Warns of a Response

North Korean state media has not publicly commented on the explosion or South Korea’s accusations.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations and its embassies in Beijing and Singapore also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With the South Korean military warning that it will take corresponding measures, the incident could become another source of confrontation between the two Koreas.

The immediate priority is preventing further injuries and dealing with the mines around the Military Demarcation Line. But the larger concern is whether the latest explosion will trigger another cycle of military responses at a time when relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are already deeply strained.

The blast therefore carries significance beyond the two injured personnel. It has placed South Korea’s attempt to pursue dialogue with North Korea alongside the more immediate question of how Seoul responds to what it considers a violation of the armistice.

With information from Reuters.