Seoul says North Korea planted mines in demilitarized zone — The Japan Times
The South Korean military and the U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded that two mines that exploded in the demilitarized zone in September, injuring three South Korean service members, had been planted by North Korea. The Japan Times reports.
The explosion occurred on September 21. According to the South Korean military, three officers sustained serious injuries, with one of them losing a foot. A third mine that did not detonate was also found during an inspection of the area.
Forensic findings
Kwon Dae Won, deputy chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the National Forensic Service conducted several stages of examination due to the importance of the incident. During the first two tests, specialists detected TNT, brown foreign material, and components of thermosetting resin. According to Kwon, this provided grounds to identify the device as a North Korean-made plastic anti-personnel mine.
Fragments of the exploded mines were compared with samples of previously discovered North Korean mines. Kwon said forensic analysis confirmed their identity. The military assessed that the mines may have been laid about a year ago.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Accusations of armistice violation
According to the South Korean military, the results of the investigation are consistent with previous conclusions that North Korean military personnel crossed the Military Demarcation Line. Pyongyang denies these accusations and responsibility for the explosions.
The South Korean military and the United Nations Command classified the incident as a violation of the Armistice Agreement. South Korea said it would continue mine clearance south of the Military Demarcation Line, which runs through the middle of the demilitarized zone, and called on North Korea to remove the mines it planted and apologize.
The demilitarized zone has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice. South and North Korea formally remain at war, as the 1950–1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
