Military authorities announced on September 28 that they have determined the cause of the landmine explosion that occurred in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on September 21 to be “very likely a landmine planted by North Korean forces.”
Kwon Dae-won, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Vice Chairman, revealed this during an interim investigation results briefing on the DMZ landmine explosion that afternoon. However, the JCS stated that whether the landmine was recently planted by North Korea or if it was a lost landmine from another area “will require the final investigation results to be released.”
Vice Chairman Kwon stated, “If the final investigation concludes that the cause of the damage to our military was a landmine planted by North Korean forces, then our soldiers, who were conducting normal DMZ operations south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), were injured by a North Korean landmine, and all responsibility for this lies with North Korea.” He added, “Our military will take appropriate and reciprocal measures in response.”
According to the JCS, the explosion site was approximately 10 meters south of the MDL, about 10 meters away from an area where North Korean landmine planting was suspected based on terrain changes. There were two explosions, and based on operational personnel’s testimony that one more landmine was discovered during withdrawal, it is estimated that a total of three landmines were present in the area.
The National Forensic Service’s initial analysis of the bulletproof vests and helmets worn by soldiers at the explosion site detected TNT components and brown-colored foreign substances. The JCS, combining these results with the shape of the landmine, operational personnel’s testimony about the flames during the explosion, and the severity of injuries, stated, “It is presumed not to be our military’s landmine.”
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