Stoked Hostility in 2015, but Silent Domestically Now: Why?

[Anchor]

North Korea has issued four statements regarding the landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, but it remains tight-lipped domestically.

This response differs markedly from the 2015 wooden-box landmine incident. Reporter Kim Ayeong compared the current situation with what happened back then.

[Reporter]

Following the landmine blast on the western front of the DMZ on September 21, North Korea has released a total of four statements so far.

All of them deny the South Korean military's announcement that the landmines were planted by the North.

However, North Korea only released them through the Korean Central News Agency, an external-facing outlet, and kept silent domestically.

It has maintained this non-disclosure stance internally for about 20 days until today (October 9), a starkly different reaction compared to the August 2015 wooden-box landmine incident.

At that time, two non-commissioned officers from the 1st Infantry Division stationed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, were seriously injured.

Six days later, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a warning statement defining the incident as a provocation by North Korea.

North Korea denied involvement 11 days after the incident through a statement by the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission, and it broadcast the statement directly on Korean Central Television, which is watched by North Korean residents.

[North Korea's National Defense Commission Policy Department Statement (August 14, 2015): "If our military had needed any military objective, we would have used formidable firepower, not fiddled around with a mere three landmines."]

It even aired broadcasts seemingly aimed at stoking public anger and using that anger as fuel to achieve economic output.

[North Korean worker (2015 broadcast): "A club is truly the only proper medicine for a rabid dog. With the mindset of beating down a mad dog, I will make the roar of production ring out even louder."]

Back then, the regime appeared to believe that fueling hostility toward South Korea could be utilized socially.

This time, however, Kim Yo-jong has stepped forward to state that the goal is to permanently sever ties between the two Koreas, leading to analyses that there is little incentive to publicize the incident internally.

[Hong Min / Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification: "It appears they judged that they do not want to escalate tensions like that, but rather want to gloss over this issue and focus on continuing their project to turn the area into a border."]

In 2015, the situation reached a powder-keg flashpoint with South Korea resuming loudspeaker broadcasts and North Korea shelling the western front, before de-escalating through talks.

For now, North Korea is responding through statements while showing its stance to continue its so-called project of fortifying the border.

(Video by Park Chun-bae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.