South Korea Calls on North Korea to Apologize for DMZ Landmine Injuries

South Korea’s military has urged North Korea to apologize for landmine explosions along the border that injured several South Korean troops earlier this month.

Three South Korean service members were hurt in explosions within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the buffer area between the Koreas, on September 21.

On Tuesday, Seoul stated that the blasts, which occurred on its side of the DMZ, were “highly likely” caused by North Korean mines, and promised to take appropriate action over what it described as a breach of the longstanding armistice.

Pyongyang denied any involvement, dismissing Seoul’s allegations as baseless and a ploy to heighten tensions on the peninsula.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused Seoul of fabricating the claims for political and military provocation.

She rejected the idea that North Korean forces had crossed the border to lay the mines, labeling it a calculated claim meant to shift blame for rising tensions onto Pyongyang.

Her statement, released in state media on Wednesday, also warned South Korea to brace for the consequences of its own fabrication.

Seoul believes the mines were placed by Pyongyang to strengthen its border defenses. In a Wednesday statement, it demanded an apology from North Korea and an immediate halt to such fortification work along the frontier.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul earlier said on Tuesday that the explosions constituted a clear breach of the 1953 armistice that ended active fighting in the Korean War.

That agreement established the 4‑kilometer‑wide (2.5‑mile) DMZ, a buffer zone that includes the Military Demarcation Line marking the land border between the two Koreas.

Over the years, occasional clashes and mine detonations have occurred in the DMZ.

In 2015, two South Korean soldiers were severely injured by landmines while on patrol. Seoul asserted that the mines had been covertly placed by North Korean troops near a South Korean guard post, a claim Pyongyang rejected.

In her Wednesday remarks, Kim Jong Un’s sister cited the 2015 episode, alleging that Seoul had used it as a pretext to raise tensions and was repeating the same tactic now.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have worsened since 2015, increasing the likelihood of friction whenever similar incidents occur.

Christopher Green, a senior consultant at the Crisis Group, told the BBC that North Korea has deliberately sought to fortify the border and sever inter‑Korean ties.

He added that, consequently, the two Koreas lack the low‑level communication channels they maintained in 2015.

“Accidental escalation on the Korean Peninsula is always just a few steps away, and today it is even closer than it was in 2015,” he said.

The United Nations Command, which carried out on‑site investigations of the blasts alongside the South Korean military, said it would address the armistice violation through established mechanisms.

“The UNC remains committed to upholding and enforcing the Armistice Agreement, and to preserving stability while preventing escalation on the Korean Peninsula,” it stated.

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