[Anchor]
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul emphasized that the South Korean military's operation to remove North Korean landmines on the western front was a resolute response. However, conservative opposition parties strongly criticized the move, claiming it amounts to abandoning the nation's security sovereignty.
Senior Defense Reporter Kim Tae-hoon reports.
[Reporter]
Yesterday (October 5), the South Korean military conducted a mine clearance operation 10 meters south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the western front, where a landmine explosion had occurred.
Military authorities explained that this was a countermeasure to the explosion that injured three South Korean service members.
[Kang Shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: Yesterday, our military took the necessary measures.]
When asked by reporters whether clearing mines south of the MDL was merely a passive response after South Korean soldiers were injured by North Korean mines in that area, Minister Kang responded:
[Kang Shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: That is not true. This was, in fact, unprecedented in the history of our GOP and DMZ. I view it as a resolute response.]
While Minister Kang stated that necessary measures would continue, he did not specify what those measures would be.
An official from the Ministry of Unification also stated, "We will review necessary measures while closely cooperating with related agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense," appearing to coordinate the matter with defense authorities.
The official also remarked, "Rather than a head-on confrontation, we must find a fundamental peace solution through good-faith communication," prompting speculation that there may effectively be no further response beyond the mine clearance operation.
The People Power Party stepped up its criticism, calling it an "abandonment of security sovereignty."
[Park Choong-kwon / People Power Party Lawmaker: Why is it that the government cannot utter a single word or respond to Kim Jong-un's landmine provocation, yet the minister even steps forward to say that additional measures will be taken regarding Ukraine?]
If no follow-up measures are taken after the mine clearance operation, the fallout from the western front landmine explosion is expected to escalate from inter-Korean conflict into domestic division within South Korea.
Reported by Kim Hyun-sang | Video by Oh Young-taek | Graphics by Park Cheon-woong
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