Three South Korean soldiers were injured last week when two landmines exploded in the western sector of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), a 248-kilometre long, four-kilometre wide buffer zone dividing the Korean Peninsula.
Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a joint investigation with the United Nations Command assessed that 'North Korean landmines are highly suspected to have caused the blast.' He told reporters that the explosion site was about 10 metres from an area where changes in terrain were observed and where North Korean forces are believed to have recently planted mines.
'Taking into account the crater and the pattern of the flames from the explosion, the extent of the injuries sustained by the service members… we assess that North Korean landmines are highly suspected to have caused the blast,' Mr Kwon said.
He added that a third, unexploded mine was found while soldiers were withdrawing after the blast. Mr Kwon said that if the investigation concludes Pyongyang was responsible, North Korea 'would bear full responsibility for the incident' and that South Korea's military 'will take appropriate and corresponding measures,' though he did not specify what those measures might be.
While the DMZ is officially demilitarised, its northern and southern boundaries remain among the world's most heavily fortified frontiers and are littered with landmines. No peace treaty was signed after the 1953 armistice, meaning Seoul and Pyongyang technically remain at war.