"Mine Removal Operation Was a Resolute Response" ... Opposition: "Surrender of Security Sovereignty"

[Anchor]

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

Military affairs reporter Kim Taehun reports.

[Reporter]

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

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

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister: Yesterday, our military took the necessary measures.]

When reporters asked whether removing landmines south of the MDL was merely a passive response after South Korean soldiers were injured by North Korean landmines south of the MDL, Minister Kang responded as follows.

[Kang Shin-chul / Defense Minister: That is not true. This is actually a first in the history of our GOP and DMZ. I view it as a resolute response.]

Minister Kang stated that the military would continue taking necessary measures, but did not specify what those measures would be.

An official from the Ministry of Unification also said, "We will review necessary measures while closely cooperating with related agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense," appearing to have coordinated with the defense ministry and other authorities.

The official also remarked, "Rather than a hardline-for-hardline confrontation, we must formulate fundamental peace solutions through goodwill communication," which has fueled speculation that there may effectively be no other response beyond the mine removal operation.

The People Power Party sharpened its criticism, calling it a "surrender of security sovereignty."

[Park Choong-kwon / People Power Party Lawmaker: Why is it that you cannot say a single word or respond to Kim Jong-un's landmine provocations from North Korea, yet even the minister steps forward to say additional measures will be taken regarding Ukraine?]

If there are no follow-up measures after the mine removal operation, the repercussions of the landmine explosion on the western front are projected to escalate from an inter-Korean conflict into an internal conflict within South Korea.

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