Kim Yo-jong Rebuts Landmine Blast Probe Findings, Calls It 'Seoul's Self-Staged Farce'

Kim Yo-jong, department director of the Workers' Party of Korea, on the 30th dismissed the South Korean military's announcement that the cause of the explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ, the buffer zone along the inter-Korean border) on the western front was highly likely a North Korean landmine, calling it "a self-staged farce by Seoul." Kim issued a statement titled 'The Perpetrators of the Provocation Must Be Prepared to Pay the Price for Their Self-Staged Farce' through the Korean Central News Agency.

She pushed back against the South Korean military's declaration that it would take corresponding measures if the explosion is ultimately determined to have been caused by a North Korean landmine. She also claimed the incident was a self-staged scheme reminiscent of the 'wooden box landmine incident' some 10 years ago.

Kim claimed that North Korean troops had never once crossed the Military Demarcation Line. She then shifted blame to Seoul, asserting that the South Korean military has been conducting warning shots on a daily basis since August.

During the 2015 wooden box landmine incident, South Korean non-commissioned officers were seriously injured, and the military responded by resuming loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North. Attention is now focused on whether corresponding measures will be taken if this incident is ultimately determined to have involved a North Korean landmine.