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North Korea has rejected South Korea’s accusation that Pyongyang was responsible for a landmine blast south of the Military Demarcation Line.
The blast occurred on Sept. 21, about 10 meters south of the line. Three South Korean soldiers were injured, two of them reportedly seriously.
Pyongyang’s position
North Korea reacted after South Korean troops said their initial assessment indicated that mines planted by Pyongyang had caused the blast.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused Seoul of fabricating evidence. She said North Korean troops had not crossed the Military Demarcation Line.
“This is as low and dirty as befits the tribes of South Korea. Such a show is nothing new,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by North Korean state media KCNA.
UN Command says armistice was violated
South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin Chul said Seoul would take “appropriate” measures. He said the mines were likely planted by Pyongyang as part of fortification work along the border.
The UN Command, which oversees the Korean Armistice Agreement, conducted a joint investigation with South Korean forces. It said another active North Korean anti-personnel mine had been found south of the line and concluded that the armistice had been violated.
The UN Command said it had taken action regarding the violation under established armistice mechanisms.
Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang had never concealed its construction work along the border and described it as an exercise of sovereignty. She criticized Seoul for firing warning shots and warned that North Korean units would respond immediately if shots were fired.
Seoul demands an apology
The South Korean military demanded that North Korea apologize and halt its work along the border. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min Seok also called on Pyongyang to apologize.
The tensions could complicate South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to restore dialogue with North Korea. After defining South Korea in 2024 as an enemy state rather than a partner for future reunification, Pyongyang has been building barriers and roads and planting mines along the border.
Lim Eul Chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, said the statement could lay the groundwork for possible retaliatory measures in response to South Korean warning shots or broadcasts near the border.
The professor said North Korea was building a narrative that would allow it to portray any clash as a response to South Korean provocation.
Decades-long armistice on the Korean Peninsula
The armistice signed in 1953 halted fighting in the Korean War but did not lead to a peace treaty. The agreement established a 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone divided in the middle by the Military Demarcation Line.
Despite its name, the Demilitarized Zone remains one of the world’s most heavily guarded and mined borders.
