Unification minister says response to DMZ blast should not derail peace efforts
Summary
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said South Korea’s response to the recent DMZ land mine blast should not derail peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula. He called for a thorough investigation and truth finding into the Sept. 21 explosion, which injured three South Korean soldiers. Chung also said he cut short his Europe trip and will return home to deal with the blast.
Key Facts
- Chung wrote on Facebook from Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday local time that responses to the blast should not be used to belittle or distort peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
- The South Korean military said North Korea was responsible for the DMZ land mine explosion and that three South Korean soldiers were injured.
- Chung had been scheduled to visit Northern Ireland, Ireland and Germany through Oct. 5 to study how those places resolved past conflicts and built peace, but he canceled the Ireland and Germany legs.
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called the DMZ incident a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement and demanded an apology from Pyongyang.
- North Korea denied involvement and dismissed Seoul’s announcement as a groundless conspiracy.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks during a ceremony marking the 4th Dispersed Families Day, The Plaza Hotel, Seoul, Sept. 23. Yonhap
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has said South Korea's response to the recent North Korean land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) should not undermine efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.
In a Facebook post from Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday (local time), Chung said the government should conduct a "thorough investigation" and "truth finding" into the Sept. 21 DMZ blast caused by mines planted by the North and respond accordingly.
He said, however, those responses should not "be used as an excuse to belittle or distort our efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula."
"We should reflect on why this tragic event repeats and seek more fundamental answers," he added.
"In Northern Island, which has turned past tragedy into today's hope, I reaffirm my resolve to end the long-running war on the Korean Peninsula and build a lasting peace regime," he wrote.
The minister cut short his trip to Europe after a military investigation found North Korea responsible for last week's land mine explosion inside the DMZ that injured three South Korean soldiers.
He had been due to visit Northern Ireland, Ireland and Germany through Oct. 5 to study how those places resolved past conflicts and built peace but scrapped the Ireland and Germany legs.
The minister is set to return home later in the day to deal with the blast.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) blamed North Korea on Wednesday for the DMZ incident and called it a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The South also demanded an apology from Pyongyang.
North Korea denied involvement in the mine blast, rejecting Seoul's announcement as a "groundless conspiracy."
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