Kim Yo-jong, director of the general affairs department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, again denied responsibility for a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone and said the true intent of fortifying the border is "to shut the door forever so that we never have to face South Korea." The remarks were seen as rebuffing Seoul's offer of dialogue, which has focused on talks rather than escalation.
In a statement on the 2nd, Kim said Seoul "has revealed its vicious true colors in seeking to once again plunge the situation on the Korean Peninsula into a critical state for selfish purposes." She said the South had "reached the preposterous conclusion that the landmine explosion was caused by 'covert and deliberate mine-laying' and released what it called an utterly clumsy 'official statement.'" It was her second denial of the South Korean military's preliminary finding, announced on Sept. 21, that the DMZ blast was caused by a mine laid by North Korean troops.
With calls for a North Korean apology and corresponding steps under discussion in connection with the DMZ blast, Kim said the South "even went so far as to talk about some kind of 'apology,'" calling such figures "utterly pathetic." She went on to stress that the border fortification work is aimed at "shutting the door forever so that we never have to face South Korea, so that not even wild animals can pass through." The statement was read as reiterating that Pyongyang has no intention of responding to Seoul's emphasis on dialogue and communication.
Kim also mocked President Lee Jae-myung's address the previous day marking Armed Forces Day. "While the underlings are busy picking groundless quarrels with others, the person called president appeared at some sort of ceremony and expressed a will to consistently take practical steps to lower military tensions," she said. The comment was seen as reflecting an intent to criticize the South Korean government while refusing to recognize it as a counterpart for dialogue.
The statement came half a day after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young proposed communication with the North. Earlier that morning, Chung said in connection with the DMZ blast that the two sides "should begin communicating to reconfirm and re-measure the Military Demarcation Line." Chung called a demand for an apology from the North "only natural," but opposed resuming loudspeaker broadcasts across the border, describing such a move as "irresponsible and extremely dangerous."
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul visited Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on the same day for the first time since taking office and met with Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of the Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command. Kang is said to have discussed the DMZ landmine blast and consultations on the Military Demarcation Line baseline at the meeting.
