UNC confirms armistice violation as military demands NK apology
Lt. Gen. Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivers a statement on the recent land mine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Pyongyang denies border crossing, calls mine explosion Seoul's 'self-staged farce'
The South Korean military and United Nations Command (UNC) made it clear on Wednesday that North Korea violated the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement by laying mines south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in South Korean territory.
While the South demands an apology from the North over the recent mine explosions that seriously injured South Korean soldiers, the North has denied any involvement, claiming the accident was fabricated by the South.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said three South Korean soldiers, who had been carrying out routine search operations south of the MDL on Sept. 21, were seriously injured by North Korean mines.
The MDL separates the two Koreas and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a buffer zone extending 2 kilometers on either side of the MDL. The North has been burying mines along the MDL as part of what it calls “border fortification activities.”
“North Korea must immediately halt activities that heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including the so-called fortification of its border. We strongly call on the North to apologize and take responsible measures [over the mine blast],” Lt. Gen. Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations at the JCS, said while reading the military’s statement at the defense ministry headquarters in Seoul.
Calling such activities a “clear violation of the armistice agreement" and saying they "undermine the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements,” Kang said “North Korea bears all responsibilities for any situations taking place in the future.”
The United Nations Command (UNC), which conducted a joint on-site investigation with the South Korean military, said investigators found an active North Korean anti-personnel mine south of the MDL.
“Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an armistice agreement violation occurred,” it said.
According to the agreement, hostile activities within the DMZ are forbidden, and no crossing of the MDL is allowed without permission of the Military Armistice Commission.
The UNC added that the violation is being addressed through established armistice mechanisms.
The joint investigation was carried out from Sunday to Tuesday, and it found another unexploded North Korean resin anti-personnel mine near the blast site, which is about 10 meters south of the MDL. Together with the two mines that exploded and another spotted by soldiers as they withdrew after the blasts, the military believes at least four mines were present in the area.
Earlier in the day before the statements by the South Korean military and the UNC were released, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rejected Seoul’s findings and accused the South of fabricating the incident.
Calling it “an obvious self-staged farce” reminiscent of the 2015 DMZ land mine incident, Kim claimed North Korean troops had “not once crossed the border” and warned that North Korean border units would retaliate “immediately and mercilessly” if South Korean troops use live fire against personnel involved in the North’s border fortification work.
Kim also defended the border fortification as an exercise of sovereignty.