South Korean defence chief says North Korean land mine found near DMZ blast site was buried

Seoul: South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said Tuesday a North Korean land mine found at the site of last week's explosion inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) was a mine buried by North Korean forces, not the one that was washed away.

Kang's remarks come as the South Korean military on Tuesday found one North Korean resin antipersonnel mine near the site of the Sept. 21 blast south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the two Koreas. The incident left three South Korean soldiers injured, two of them with severe wounds.

"(It was) buried," Kang said in response to an inquiry by Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition party who asked whether the land mine was buried in the ground or the one deemed to have been washed away, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"(The North Korean land mine) is presumed to be linked to Pyongyang's border reinforcement work," he said, when asked if he believes the mine in question was deliberately planted by North Korea.

Considering that multiple mines were spotted being placed some 1-2 meters away from each other, Kang also said the possibility that the land mine was swept away was "very low."

Earlier in the day, the defence chief said at least four mines were believed to have been placed at or near the DMZ explosion site.

On whether he was certain if the cause of last week's blast was due to North Korea-planted land mines, the defence chief said "yes."

After a joint inspection of the site with the United Nations Command (UNC) on Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North Korean land mines were "highly likely" the cause of last week's explosion.

The military said the previous day that a total of three mines were believed to have been buried at the blast site, including the two that detonated, based on the soldiers' statements that they had spotted an unexploded land mine when they were retreating from the area.

The blast occurred during an operation to clear a path for a joint inspection between the South's military and the UNC to verify Seoul's suspicions that Pyongyang illegally buried land mines across the border in violation of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

In response to a lawmaker's point that the recent explosion was a violation of the armistice agreement, Kang agreed, reiterating his earlier pledge to take "corresponding measures" if the explosion is confirmed to have been caused by land mines planted by North Korean troops.

"It is clearly a violation of the armistice agreement, and the responsibility lies with North Korea, so we will take corresponding measures," he said, without elaborating on what these measures would entail.

"If confirmed, we will cooperate with the UNC and the international community, and clearly hold those responsible to account," he added.

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