South Korea's Army on Thursday held an event to mark the first anniversary of North Korea's land-mine attack that maimed two South Korean soldiers and escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula.
In the event held at the DMZ Ecosystem Tourism Support Center in Paju, just north of Seoul, Army Chief of Staff Jang Jun-kyu and military officials encouraged and expressed thanks to the eight soldiers who were involved in reconnaissance duty on Aug. 4 last year and their families, the Army said in a statement.
"We expect provocations by the North will continue down the road. We will keep our soldiers fully prepared so they can firmly and immediately counter any North Korean provocation," Jang said during the event.
The two soldiers injured in the land-mine blasts also attended the event along with their six other former team members. The two have been serving in the telecommunications and medical departments under the Ministry of National Defense after undergoing treatment.
In the land-mine explosion that took place in the demilitarized zone, one soldier lost both legs and the other lost one. The ensuing inter-Korean military showdown caused Seoul to restart its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts against the North, which were only discontinued after the communist country expressed "regret" over the mine explosion on Aug. 25.
Sergeant First Class Jeong Kyo-seong, who led the reconnaissance team on the day of the attack, still serves in reconnaissance operations. Jeong has renewed his vow to strongly retaliate if North Korea engages in another provocation.
"Through extremely hard, repetitive exercises, we have beefed up our readiness and capability to react more effectively to all types of enemy attacks (in the DMZ)," the 29-year-old noncommissioned officer said.
Park Joon-ho, now discharged from the Army, said he is ready to return if a national security crisis comes up. "I hope the land-mine attacks will serve as a wake-up call to South Korean people" as the North may resume its provocation at anytime, he said.
On Wednesday, a day before the one-year anniversary of the attack, the Army unveiled a tactical drill conducted by one of its reconnaissance teams near the inter-Korean border amid continued cross-border provocations that included the North's test-firing of two mid-range Rodong ballistic missiles earlier in the day. (Yonhap)