Three Soldiers Injured in Landmine Blast; North Korean Mine Suspected

[Anchor]

Three soldiers were injured when a landmine exploded in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the western front. The incident occurred during an operation to clear a patrol path, and it may have been a mine laid by the North Korean military.

Defense reporter Kim Tae-hoon reports.

[Reporter]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that three soldiers were injured in an unidentified explosion at around 10:50 a.m. yesterday in the Army's 25th Infantry Division operational area within the DMZ along the western front.

A JCS official stated, "The accident occurred in the DMZ between the Military Demarcation Line and the Southern Limit Line on the western front," adding, "Two severely injured officers were airlifted by helicopter to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital and are currently receiving treatment."

The official added that the other service members involved in the operation, including another injured officer, also underwent thorough medical examinations at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.

President Lee Jae-myung wrote on social media, "I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured soldiers," adding, "The government will provide all necessary support for their treatment and recovery."

The incident reportedly occurred while troops were conducting an operation to clear a patrol path.

While the military is investigating the type of explosive and who planted it, a key government official told SBS, "The explosive was confirmed to be a landmine."

The official emphasized, "Given that the accident occurred in an area our soldiers do not normally pass through, we cannot rule out the possibility that the North Korean military planted it."

The North Korean military was recently reported to have crossed the Military Demarcation Line and laid new landmines inside the 25th Division's operational sector.

[Yoo Yong-weon / People Power Party Lawmaker: "I have already revealed that in the 25th Division's guard sector alone, six locations, including minefields created by the North Korean military, crossed the Military Demarcation Line by about 10 to 15 meters."]

However, the military maintains the position that the explosion site does not precisely match the areas where the terrain was altered by North Korea's so-called "border-making" activities, such as landmine placement.

This marks the first landmine explosion inside the DMZ in about 10 months, since November of last year.

The most recent landmine blast caused by North Korean provocation was the "wooden box landmine" incident on August 4, 2015.

(Video by Kim Hyun-sang and Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Kim Jin-won | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)

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