Three South Korean soldiers were wounded by landmine explosions on 21 September in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. South Korea’s military said on Tuesday it was “certain” the mines came from North Korea and called for an apology from Pyongyang. The blasts happened on South Korea’s side of the DMZ, which has been a buffer zone since the 1953 armistice that ended active combat in the Korean War.
South Korea described the explosions as a violation of the decades-old armistice and said it would respond with “corresponding measures.” Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul called the blasts a “clear” breach of the agreement. The United Nations Command (UNC), which investigated the blasts alongside South Korean forces, said it would address the violation “through established Armistice mechanisms” and pledged to maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has denied any involvement. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official, called South Korea’s claims “groundless” and a “farce” designed to escalate tensions. She accused Seoul of “cooking up” the incident for “political and military provocation.” Kim also rejected accusations that North Korean troops crossed the border to plant mines, calling the claims “deliberate and planned strained assertion to shift the responsibility for escalating tension” onto Pyongyang.
In her statement published by state media on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong warned South Korea to prepare “for paying price for the farce of their own making.” She referenced a 2015 incident when two South Korean soldiers were injured by landmines in the DMZ. At the time, Seoul said North Korean soldiers had secretly planted the mines near a guard post. Pyongyang denied those allegations as well. Kim suggested South Korea used the 2015 event as a “pretext” to increase tensions, and said the current claims follow the same pattern.
South Korea believes the mines were planted by North Korea to strengthen its border defences. The DMZ is about 4 km wide (2.5 miles) and contains the Military Demarcation Line marking the land border. Since the armistice, clashes and mine explosions have occasionally happened in this zone.
Christopher Green, a senior consultant with Crisis Group, told the BBC that North Korea has been deliberately trying to harden the border and reduce inter-Korean relations. He said the two Koreas no longer have the “same low-level communication” they had in 2015. Green warned that “accidental escalation on the Korean Peninsula is always just a few steps away, and it’s fewer steps now than it was in 2015.”
South Korea’s demand for an apology comes amid ongoing tensions between the two Koreas, which have only worsened since 2015. The incident raises concerns about the risk of further clashes or misunderstandings in the DMZ.
The UNC’s involvement in investigating the blasts reflects its role in enforcing the armistice agreement. It said it remains “committed to maintaining and enforcing the Armistice Agreement and fulfilling its responsibilities to preserve stability and prevent escalation on the Korean Peninsula.”
This latest landmine incident adds to the history of fragile encounters in the DMZ, where old wounds and new provocations continue to challenge peace on the Korean Peninsula.
According to Joy Online.
