South Korea Demands North Korea Apologize for DMZ Landmine Blasts That Injured Soldiers

A South Korean military guard post is seen from the Imjingak peace park near the Demilitarized Zone. South Korea’s military has demanded an official apology from North Korea following landmine explosions earlier this month in the border zone that left three soldiers wounded.

The three South Korean soldiers were injured in two separate explosions on September 21 near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified border buffer zone known as the DMZ. Kang Hyunwoo, the South Korean joint chiefs of staff’s director of operations, stated that the military strongly urges North Korea to apologize and take responsible measures to prevent future incidents.

"This is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements; it must be stopped immediately," Kang Hyunwoo said on Wednesday, calling for an immediate apology and responsible actions. Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul added that South Korea would consider unspecified corresponding measures if a complete investigation definitively confirms North Korea's responsibility.

Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed the South Korean assessment as a conspiratorial farce. She accused Seoul of manufacturing groundless claims to fabricate a pretext for provocation against Pyongyang, while also criticizing South Korea for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops engaged in front-line fortification work. "Our soldiers have never crossed the border," she said, warning that border units would take immediate and merciless retaliatory action if South Korean military forces fire at their personnel carrying out permanent border projects.

The United Nations Command announced on Wednesday that a joint investigation with Seoul's military successfully identified an active Democratic People’s Republic of Korea anti-personnel mine on the ROK side of the Military Demarcation Line. Based on these investigative findings, the United Nations Command formally determined that an Armistice Agreement violation had occurred.