Defense Ministry, One Day After Citing 'Possibility,' Says North Korean Mines Are Confirmed

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said at a full meeting of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee on the 29th that the cause of the explosion in the DMZ was definitively a North Korean military landmine. The day before, the Defense Ministry had only gone as far as saying it was "highly likely" to be a North Korean landmine in its interim assessment, but when Reform Party lawmaker Chun Ha-ram asked whether it could be called certain, Minister Kang replied that it could. This marks the government's first official position that the incident constitutes a North Korean violation of the armistice agreement.

The nature of the mines was also confirmed. When People Power Party lawmaker Yu Yong-won asked whether the mines discovered were drifting or deliberately planted, Minister Kang said they had been planted. He added that they were believed to be planted in connection with the fortification of the border line, including areas south of the Military Demarcation Line. Minister Kang responded that it is unlikely for several drifting mines to have gathered in such a narrow area.

Our military discovered one additional plastic anti-personnel landmine near the explosion site, bringing the total number of mines confirmed near the accident site to four. Kwon Dae-won, deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that according to on-site experts, the mines were estimated to have been planted more than a year ago.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Min Hong-chul asked about countermeasures against what he called a clear violation of the armistice agreement and an outright military provocation, Minister Kang said, "Since the violation of the armistice agreement is clear and North Korea is responsible, we will take corresponding measures." The National Defense Committee also decided to actively pursue adopting a statement denouncing North Korea.

The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission also reportedly took part in the on-site investigation. Jin Young-seung of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military has been requesting on-site verification from the United Nations Command since October of last year, and that in March this year it attempted an on-site investigation in cooperation with the UN Command, but the command withdrew after judging the site to be dangerous.

With North Korea's violation of the armistice agreement now officially confirmed by this explosion, our military's corresponding measures and the process of denouncing North Korea are expected to move into full swing.