'Explosion in Relatively Safe Area': Growing Possibility of North Korean Landmine

[Anchor]

SBS has confirmed that the area where a landmine exploded on September 21, critically injuring two soldiers, had been classified as relatively safe with a low likelihood of landmines under normal conditions. Weight is being added to the possibility that newly planted landmines by North Korea caused the explosion.

Kim Tae-hoon, defense correspondent, reports.

[Reporter]

On September 21, the mission carried out by soldiers of the Army's 25th Infantry Division in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the western front was a "patrol route clearing" operation to inspect areas south of the Military Demarcation Line suspected of having landmines planted by North Korea.

[Jang Do-young / Chief of Public Affairs Office, Joint Chiefs of Staff: "As previously stated, 'we are consulting with the UN Command regarding the possibility of landmine placement.' Thus, yesterday's operation was aimed at creating the necessary conditions prior to the UNC conducting an on-site investigation in that area...."]

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

"Although it is not a route soldiers frequently take, the landmine exploded right next to a patrol route that had been 'managed to some extent until recently,'" a government official told SBS.

In other words, the accident occurred in a relatively safe zone that had been under military management until recently and was widely considered clear of mines.

The official voiced concern, saying, "The area suspected of having mines planted by the North Korean military may be wider than what South Korean and U.S. military authorities had analyzed."

This implies that the 25th Division soldiers may have entered a mined area before even reaching the zone they presumed to be suspected of containing mines.

The mine that critically injured the two 25th Division soldiers may have been laid recently by the North Korean military.

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

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, who took office on September 22, stated regarding the landmine incident, "We will not rule out any possibility, uncover the cause, and take thorough follow-up measures and responses."

Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics by Yang Ki-tae
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.