It is estimated that North Korea has laid nearly 1 million landmines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over the past two years.
According to multiple lawmakers' offices on the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee and National Defense Committee, the military reported to parliament that the number of mines laid by North Korea in the DMZ area since 2024 is estimated at 960,000.
Experts in the field estimate that the total number of mines currently buried in the DMZ, including South Korean mines, stands at around 2 million.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young also brought up the issue of DMZ landmines during a parliamentary audit on October 7, mentioning the total number of mines as 2 million.
Based on the military's report, it appears that about half of all mines in the DMZ were laid relatively recently, since 2024.
North Korea's large-scale mine-laying is seen as part of its border fortification efforts along the Military Demarcation Line.
After defining inter-Korean relations as two hostile states, North Korea has been stepping up its border fortification work in earnest since April 2024.
In addition to planting landmines on a large scale, North Korea is simultaneously clearing land, building tactical roads and barbed-wire fences, and severing the Gyeongui and Donghae rail and road links.
Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Design by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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