Landmine Injuries Spark Heated Cross-Border Accusations Between Koreas

Seoul and Pyongyang have escalated hostile rhetoric across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) following the injury of three South Korean soldiers in a landmine blast on the southern side of the border 10 days ago.

According to a professor of foreign policy at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University, the escalating tensions could be part of a broader North Korean strategy to test South Korea’s resolve while asserting control over border areas that have been a de facto no-man’s land for over seven decades.

Choo noted that North Korea revised its constitution in March, declaring its intent to define absolute national geographical limits, including within the DMZ.

He suggested that Pyongyang aims to maximize its territory and push the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the halfway point in the DMZ, further south.

He characterized the placement of landmines on the southern side as a purely political act, intended to threaten and intimidate Seoul.

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The soldiers were part of an 18-member patrol clearing a new route through the DMZ while investigating North Korean troop activity in the western sector. The 4-kilometer-wide buffer zone has divided the peninsula since the 1953 armistice.

At 11 a.m. on September 21, about 10 meters south of the MDL, a staff sergeant triggered a mine. A second explosion occurred as the unit commander rushed to assist. Both were evacuated and underwent surgery; a third soldier received treatment for minor injuries.

The South Korean military, in cooperation with the United Nations Command that oversees the border armistice, concluded in a report released this week that the mine originated from North Korea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff accused the North of planting mines south of the MDL, a violation of the armistice, and demanded an apology from Pyongyang along with a halt to further border fortifications.

Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations, stated: “This is a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement that undermines existing inter-Korean accords and must stop immediately.”

He added, “North Korea must cease activities that escalate tensions, such as its so-called border fortification. We demand an apology and responsible action.”

The UN Command confirmed it had identified an Armistice Agreement violation and is addressing it through established mechanisms.

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Many in the South are calling for a stronger response, fearing that inaction will be perceived as weakness.

Na Kyung-won, a politician from the conservative opposition People Power Party, has demanded military exercises simulating a “decapitation attack” against Kim Jong Un.

She also called for the resumption of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts across the border and for dissident groups to be permitted to launch propaganda balloons into the North.

A pattern of border confrontations

Yu Yong-weon, also from the PPP, reported that North Korean troops crossed the MDL about 20 times in August and 30 times in September, prompting warning shots each time.

A Korea JoongAng Daily editorial on Thursday stated that North Korea must be “held accountable,” arguing that Pyongyang’s denial demands a firm response, clear accountability, and stronger border enforcement.

North Korea is not backing down. Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, accused the South of staging a provocation and threatened retaliation.

In a KCNA statement on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong dismissed the South’s allegations as a “self-staged farce” and accused “South Korean armed gangs” of using the incident to justify political and military provocations against Pyongyang.

Accident or calculated provocation?

Andrei Lankov, a professor of history and international relations at Seoul’s Kookmin University, is more inclined to view the landmine detonations as an accident.

He said, “It makes no sense for North Korea to do this deliberately. At present, the North wants to keep a low profile and avoid anything that could provoke the South. There is no gain in a deliberate attack.”

Lankov believes a more likely scenario is that heavy rain or natural terrain shifts moved the mines from the northern side of the MDL, suggesting North Korea’s denials are genuine.

He added, “I don’t think the South Korean government wants to escalate further and hopes this is quickly forgotten. They’ll want to brush it under the carpet.”

Choo, however, is less convinced and senses growing anger in South Korean society that the government is not standing up to provocations from the North.

He stated, “I believe resuming propaganda broadcasts would be effective, but this government won’t do it. It’s trying hard to engage the North, but a failure to take a firm line will be seen in Pyongyang as Seoul’s weakness.”

He added, “Not responding would give Pyongyang a green light to push further. There’s a lot of anger that the government isn’t doing enough to protect soldiers on the DMZ, the people, and our territory.”

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