"Explosion in 'Relatively Safe Area'... Growing Likelihood of North Korean Landmine"

[Anchor]

SBS has confirmed that the landmine explosion that occurred on Monday (September 21) in the Demilitarized Zone along the western front took place in an area normally classified as relatively safe. Consequently, weight is being added to the possibility that it was caused by a newly laid North Korean landmine.

Defense correspondent Kim Tae-hoon reports.

[Reporter]

The operation conducted by soldiers of the Army's 25th Infantry Division in the DMZ along the western front was a mission to "clear a patrol route" to verify areas south of the Military Demarcation Line where North Korea is suspected of having laid landmines.

[Jang Doyoung / Public Affairs Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff: "As previously mentioned, 'we are consulting with the UN Command regarding the possibility of landmines being laid.' So yesterday's operation was to create conditions prior to conducting the UN Command's on-site investigation of the area...."]

The landmine explosion occurred between the 25th Division's existing patrol route and the area suspected of containing North Korean landmines.

"While it was not a patrol route frequently used by troops, the landmine exploded right next to a patrol route that had been 'managed to some extent until recently,'" a government official told SBS.

This indicates that the accident occurred in a relatively safe area that had been militarily maintained until recently and was therefore believed to be free of mines.

The official expressed concern, saying, "The area suspected of containing North Korean landmines may be larger than what South Korean and U.S. military authorities had analyzed."

In other words, the soldiers of the 25th Division may have already stepped into a mined area before even reaching what they presumed to be the "suspected mine zone."

The landmine that severely injured two soldiers of the 25th Division may have been planted recently by the North Korean military.

[Rep. Yoo Yong-won / People Power Party (CBS Radio's 'Park Sung-tae's News Show'): "Because the accident occurred just tens of meters from the Military Demarcation Line rather than further into our side, the possibility of it being a North Korean mine is being raised, and from what I have learned, it was a North Korean wooden-box landmine."]

Newly inaugurated Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul stated regarding the landmine incident, "We will thoroughly determine the cause without ruling out any possibilities, and follow up with comprehensive measures and responses."

(Video by Kim Hyeon-sang | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.