South Korea is preparing measures to press North Korea to apologise for a mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone that seriously wounded two South Korean soldiers, while also calling for talks with Pyongyang over the precise alignment of the military boundary between the two Koreas.
The September 21 blast wounded three South Korean troops, two of them seriously. South Korea has said the explosion was caused by North Korean mines, citing the findings of a joint investigation conducted with the United Nations Command.
South Korean defence ministry spokesperson Chung Bin-na said on Tuesday that Seoul was preparing a response but did not specify what measures would be taken. She said North Korea must remove mines it had planted south of the Military Demarcation Line, or MDL, inside the DMZ.
At the same time, Seoul is seeking discussions with Pyongyang over differences concerning the precise location of the MDL, which runs through the DMZ and divides the Korean Peninsula. Chung said differing interpretations of the boundary were contributing to tensions in the area.
The MDL stretches for more than 200 kilometres between the east and west coasts and is marked by about 1,900 markers. Some sections have become difficult to identify after decades of limited access to the DMZ. The line was established in 1953 at the end of the Korean War.
The dispute over the mine blast has already drawn a direct rejection from North Korea. Pyongyang on Friday described Seoul’s accusation that North Korean mines had seriously wounded South Korean soldiers as “groundless” and rejected South Korea’s demand for an apology, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang had not deliberately planted mines in the border area, according to KCNA.
The conflicting accounts leave the responsibility for the September 21 explosion disputed. South Korea maintains that its conclusion was based on the findings of its joint investigation with the United Nations Command, while North Korea has rejected both the accusation and the demand for an apology.
Chung also said North Korea should remove mines that South Korea says were planted south of the MDL. Her comments linked the immediate dispute over the blast to the broader difficulty of establishing the exact position of the military boundary in parts of the DMZ.
The DMZ has remained largely inaccessible for decades, complicating efforts to identify some of the boundary markers established after the Korean War. Seoul’s call for talks therefore combines its demand for an explanation and apology over the mine explosion with a request to address the disputed alignment of the line that separates the two Koreas.
