Kim Yo-jong denies that North Korean mine caused DMZ explosion
Kim Yo-jong, the director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of Kim Jong-un, called the South Korean military's assessment that a North Korean mine likely caused the explosion a "clear farce."
Kim Yo-jong speaks at an event in Pyongyang on Aug. 10, 2022, in a photo released by the North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency.YONHAP
Kim Yo-jong, the director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denied the South Korean military’s assessment that a North Korean mine likely caused a recent explosion in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), calling it a “clear farce.”
“Recently, the ROK military gangsters committed another provocation against the DPRK, announcing the ‘investigation results’ in connection with the […] mine explosion that occurred in the southern border area,” Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.
ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name, and DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Describing the assessment as “low and dirty,” she said that North Korea had “anticipated the scenario […] and seen through the true intention of the conspiratorial farce being staged by the ROK military gangsters.”
A mine explosion occurred in the western section of the DMZ on Sept. 21. The South Korean military later announced that the mine was “highly likely” to have come from North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong pointed to the 2015 wooden box mine incident, which left two South Korean soldiers seriously injured, and accused the South of blaming the North now as it did then.
“[In 2015], the puppet forces forcibly linked the ‘mine explosion incident’ that occurred on the western border with the DPRK and continuously escalated the tension under [that] pretext,” she added. “What should not be overlooked is the fact that the armed gangsters of the ROK are now cooking up the groundless results and ‘justifying their conduct’ for political and military provocation against the DPRK, openly talking about ‘reasonable and corresponding enforcement of measures.’”
She also questioned South Korea’s account of the explosion.
Lt. Gen. Kwon Dae-won, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefs reporters on the suspected land mine explosion in the demilitarized zone at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Sept. 28.NEWS1
“How can we sit and watch their despicable act of rashly doubting anyone after exploding a mine of doubtful provenance and talking about the breach of the [1950-53 Korean War] Armistice Agreement?”
She then defended North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its border.
“The enemies’ provocative acts near the southern border […] are going beyond the limit with each passing day,” she said. “As the world knows, our army has been building the barriers in the southern border area as part of the work of strengthening the border two years ago, and this is only a thorough exercise of sovereignty unrelated to any military purpose.”
She also rejected claims that North Korean troops crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) during the border work.
According to the South Korean military, North Korean soldiers first crossed the MDL this year in August and did so more than 20 times that month. In response, the South Korean military said that it fired warning shots.
The Civilian Control Line area near the border in Paju, Gyeonggi, on June 17YONHAP
“The ROK military warmongers are seriously threatening the personal safety of our soldiers through warning [broadcasts] and warning shots, teasing our personnel mobilized for building the border barriers about the groundless ‘crossing of the border,’” Kim Yo-jong said. “The ‘crossing the border’ of our soldiers touted by the ROK military is a deliberate and planned strained assertion to shift the responsibility for escalating tension onto the DPRK. Clearly speaking, our soldiers have never crossed the border.”
She added that North Korea will “never remain a passive onlooker to the hostile acts causing great concern in the border area” and that North Korean border units “will take immediate and merciless [retaliation]” if the South Korean military fires at its troops carrying out the project for the border.
“I seriously warn you that it would be a good idea to weigh the relative advantages with reasonable thinking,” she said. “If you are going to display ‘bravery’ with an unpopular barbarous courage, you will only face a miserable and catastrophic position.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
