South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff has found one more plastic anti-personnel mine of the type used by the North Korean military at the site of a mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone. With at least four mines — not the three initially estimated — now known to have been concentrated in a narrow area around the blast site, the evidence points more strongly to deliberate emplacement by North Korean troops than to mines washed in from elsewhere. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said the mines "do not appear to have drifted in" and called the case "a clear violation of the armistice agreement."
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 30th, South Korean forces and the United Nations Command conducted a third day of joint on-site investigation the previous day in the DMZ sector under the Army's 25th Infantry Division and found one mine believed to be a North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine. The newly found mine lay about one meter to the rear of the second explosion point and was assessed to be a different device from the unexploded mine that soldiers taking part in the operation said they had seen at the time of the accident.
The military had previously believed there were three mines at the site — two that detonated and one unexploded device spotted by the soldiers. With this additional find, at least four mines were present.
Appearing before a full session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee the previous day, Kang was asked by Yoo Yong-won of the People Power Party whether the device was indeed a new mine distinct from the one described in the soldiers' accounts. "As far as I know, yes. Four, not the three previously estimated," he said. When Yoo asked whether four mines could end up clustered within a four-meter diameter of the blast point if they had drifted there, Kang said it was "unlikely."
Cheon Ha-ram of the Reform Party also asked whether the ministry could confirm that the mines had been planted rather than washed in. "It does not appear they drifted in," Kang said. Asked whether it could be stated with certainty that they were North Korean mines, he said yes. He indicated, however, that further assessment was needed on whether North Korean troops laid the mines with the intent of inflicting casualties on South Korean soldiers.
Military authorities are leaning toward the possibility that the accident was caused by North Korean mines, citing the absence of any trace of South Korean mine-laying in the area, the identification last September of signs that North Korean troops had laid mines nearby, and the discovery at the site of an object believed to be a North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine.
The military assessed, however, that the mines were most likely not laid recently. Kang said the mines at the site differ from the "mine rows" left last September, when North Korean troops placed mines at regular intervals. He added that the mine seen by the soldiers at the time of the accident was covered with soil and roots, suggesting considerable time had passed. The joint on-site investigation task force also assessed that the newly discovered mine had been in place for at least a year.
One possibility raised is that North Korean troops laid the mines while fortifying the area near the Military Demarcation Line. "They appear to have laid them forward of the MDL to fortify the border line," Kang said. "They are laying mines first and installing fencing — essentially turning the border line into a fortified zone." Following an instruction from leader Kim Jong-un in 2023, North Korean troops began fortification work near the MDL the following year. Suspicions have also been raised that in some sectors of the western front they encroached south of the MDL.
Military authorities also signaled countermeasures against the North. "The violation of the armistice agreement is clear, and responsibility therefore lies with North Korea," Kang said. "We will take commensurate measures." He added, "We have the measures we need and will carry them out in stages." On specifics, he was reticent, saying that laying them all out "would itself be an operational matter."
Opposition lawmakers focused on allegations that the government deliberately withheld information and on what they called an inadequate military response. Cheon alleged that "President Lee Jae-myung's political schedule was put ahead of national security so he could advocate 'peace without fighting' at the U.N. General Assembly." He also questioned why the National Security Council had not been convened after the mine explosion.
Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party pressed Kang on accountability, saying he "has never once spoken of his own responsibility for the soldiers under his command who were wounded." Sung Il-jong of the People Power Party criticized Kang and other military officials as "political soldiers."
Kang rejected the concealment allegations, saying there was "no delay in disclosure and no concealment whatsoever." He added: "We will thoroughly determine the clear cause and explain it transparently to the public." He also said, "The state will take responsibility to the end and look after the heroes who were wounded carrying out their mission for the country, so that they can focus solely on treatment and recovery."
