▲ A photo of the "landmine explosion crater" disclosed at the Joint Chiefs of Staff's briefing on the "presumed DMZ landmine explosion incident" held at the Ministry of National Defense on September 28
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that one North Korean plastic (resin) anti-personnel landmine was discovered today (September 29) during the third day of on-site investigations conducted by the South Korean military and the United Nations Command regarding the landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
However, the newly found mine was assessed to be different from the mine that soldiers participating in the operation at the time of the September 21 explosion reported having seen.
In a press notice released this afternoon, the JCS stated that the military and the UN Command carried out a joint on-site investigation that day, saying, "Today, the on-site investigation team discovered one North Korean plastic anti-personnel landmine near the blast site."
It added, "The on-site investigation team assesses that this mine is a different plastic anti-personnel mine from the one described by soldiers who took part in the operation at the time of the explosion."
Participating troops previously stated that during their withdrawal at the time of the accident, they spotted a brown North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine similar in shape to a North Korean wooden-box landmine, located about 1 meter away from the point of the first explosion.
With the discovery of a mine different from previous accounts during this on-site investigation, attention is focused on whether there was yet another landmine.
Around 30 personnel were deployed for the investigation, including South Korean military operational troops, the secretary of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission, and officials from investigative agencies.
Some of the officers who carried out the operation on September 21 also took part.
The JCS stated, "Following additional investigations, our military and the UN Command plan to objectively and transparently explain the final investigation results to the public."
The military and the UN Command have been conducting daily on-site investigations in the DMZ since September 27.
During the second day of the on-site investigation yesterday (September 28), investigators approached up to 2 meters before the secondary explosion point, but did not reach the origin of the primary explosion, which is another 2 meters away from that point.
(Photo courtesy of the JCS, Yonhap News)
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