Military finds North Korean mine during on-site inspection of blast
The Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that "the site investigation team has assessed that [the discovered mine] is a resin-cased antipersonnel mine" from North Korea.
A crater left by the suspected mine explosion in the demilitarized zone is shown in an image released at a Joint Chiefs of Staff briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Sept. 28.
JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
A North Korean resin-cased antipersonnel mine has been found near the site of last week's blasts in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Tuesday.
The mine turned up on the third day of the joint site investigation that the South Korean military is conducting with the United Nations Command (UNC), the JCS said in a notice to reporters.
“The site investigation team has assessed that this [...] is a resin-cased antipersonnel mine, different from the one described by soldiers who took part in the operations at the time of the explosions,” the JCS said.
“After conducting additional investigation, we plan to explain the final results to the public objectively and transparently.”
The series of blasts, which went off south of the military demarcation line in the DMZ on Sept. 21, was very likely caused by a North Korean mine, the JCS said at a briefing on Monday evening. The military said that it would take commensurate measures if the final investigation confirms that North Korea planted the mine.
“It is clear that the armistice agreement has been violated,” Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said at a plenary session of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on Tuesday afternoon. “Since the responsibility lies with North Korea, we will take corresponding measures.”
“We have the necessary measures and will carry them out step by step,” he added.
The blasts went off at around 10:50 a.m. in the western sector of the DMZ, an area under the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in Paju, Gyeonggi, while troops were clearing a new reconnaissance route. A battalion commander and a staff sergeant were seriously injured, and a third soldier suffered minor injuries.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]
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.
