"Mine Clearance Operation Was a Resolute Response"… Opposition Slams "Abandonment of Security Sovereignty"

[Anchor]

Defense Minister Kang shin-chul emphasized that the South Korean military's operation to clear North Korean landmines on the western front was a resolute response. However, the conservative opposition strongly criticized it, calling it tantamount to surrendering national security sovereignty.

Defense reporter Kim Tae-hoon reports.

[Reporter]

Yesterday (October 5), our military conducted a mine clearance operation at a point 10 meters south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), where a landmine explosion recently occurred on the western front.

Military authorities explained that this was a responsive measure to the incident that injured three South Korean soldiers.

[Kang shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: Yesterday, our military carried out the necessary measures.]

When reporters asked whether clearing landmines south of the MDL was a passive response after South Korean soldiers were injured by North Korean mines south of the MDL, Minister Kang replied:

[Kang shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: That is not true. This was, in fact, the first such event in the history of our GOP and DMZ. I view it as a resolute response.]

Minister Kang said that necessary measures would continue, but did not specify what those measures would be.

An official from the Ministry of Unification also stated, "We will review necessary measures while working closely with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense," appearing to reflect coordination with defense authorities.

The official added, "A fundamental peace solution should be devised through good-faith communication rather than head-on confrontation," prompting speculation that there may effectively be no other response beyond the mine clearance operation.

The People Power Party lashed out, calling it an "abandonment of security sovereignty."

[Park Choong-kwon / People Power Party Lawmaker: Why can't we say a single word or respond to North Korean Kim Jong Un's landmine provocations, while the minister himself steps forward to say additional measures will be taken regarding Ukraine?]

If there are no follow-up steps after the mine clearance operation, the fallout from the western front landmine explosion is expected to escalate from inter-Korean conflict into Stranger conflict.

Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek | Graphics by Park Cheon-woong
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.