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| Armed South Korean soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence in the Demilitarized Zone, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
The latest mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), blamed on North Korea, has shed light on the number of mines planted by the two Koreas in the heavily fortified area.
It is estimated that some 1 million landmines have been laid inside the DMZ since the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Korean chapter of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said Monday landmine accidents in the DMZ have regularly taken place since the war, resulting in more than 1,000 casualties.
The two Koreas have not signed the 1999 Ottawa Treaty that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines that detonate after physical contact with a person or animal. That is because of the strained relations between the two Koreas and the fact that the two are technically still at war since a peace treaty was never signed.
Around 160 countries have signed the treaty. The U.S., China, Russia and the two Koreas as well as India, Iran and Pakistan have not joined in signing the pact.
Korea and the U.S. have maintained that the use of antipersonnel and antitank mines is necessary along the DMZ to deter potential incursions from North Korea.
Antipersonnel and antitank landmines scattered in the DMZ are regularly replaced before they become ineffective after several years.
Since the war, there have been numerous accidents involving landmines that have killed or hurt civilians and military personnel. In 2013, a farmer died while working in a controlled area on the South Korean side.
Landmines have hampered peacemaking projects in the DMZ.
A landmine-free DMZ is necessary to establish a peace park in the area, one of the main pledges of President Park Geun-hye. That will not be possible unless the two Koreas join the Ottawa Treaty.
In 2014, the Obama administration announced a major change in its landmine policy, saying that the U.S. will no longer use antipersonnel landmines or replace existing stockpiles worldwide, except in the DMZ separating the two Koreas.
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