North Korea Estimated to Have Planted 960,000 Landmines in DMZ Since 2024

The number of landmines planted by North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over the past two years or so has reportedly reached nearly 1 million.

According to the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee and National Defense Committee, the military reported to parliament that North Korea is estimated to have laid a total of 960,000 landmines in the DMZ area since 2024.

Experts in the field estimate the total number of landmines currently buried in the DMZ, including those laid by South Korean forces, at around 2 million.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young also mentioned the total count of landmines as "2 million" while addressing the DMZ mine issue during a parliamentary audit on October 7.

Based on the military's report, roughly half of all landmines in the DMZ appear to have been laid relatively recently, since 2024.

North Korea's large-scale mine-laying is seen as part of its ongoing push to "fortify the border" along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).


North Korea has been stepping up this work in earnest since April 2024, after defining inter-Korean relations as those between "two hostile states."

In addition to laying landmines on a massive scale, the North has been simultaneously clearing land into wasteland, building anti-tank barriers, constructing tactical roads and wire fences, and severing the Gyeongui and Donghae rail and road connection corridors.

With North Korea conducting operations along the entire armistice line, serious casualties have occurred, including an incident on September 21 in which a North Korean landmine detonated in an area south of the MDL, severely injuring a South Korean soldier.

Military tensions in the area are also escalating as North Korean troops repeatedly cross the MDL while carrying out this work.

The South Korean military continues to take response measures, such as issuing warning broadcasts and firing warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing the MDL. However, Pyongyang has pushed back, claiming that these actions endanger the safety of its troops, and has countered by threatening to resume anti-South loudspeaker broadcasts.

(Photo courtesy of the JCS, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.