[Anchor]

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul stated that North Korea's planting of landmines across the Military Demarcation Line is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement. While he noted that "corresponding measures" to hold North Korea accountable will be implemented in phases, he refrained from elaborating on specific methods.

Reporter Kim Hye-young has the details.

[Reporter]

The military stated that the United Nations Command (UNC) shared the assessment that the location where the North Korean landmines were found is south of the Military Demarcation Line.

[Kwon Dae-won / Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "What the UNC acknowledges is that the fourth mine found today, the first crater where the sergeant was injured, and then the crater where the battalion commander was injured—these three are clearly south of the MDL (Military Demarcation Line)..."]

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul emphasized that North Korea's violation of the Armistice Agreement is clear and stressed that "corresponding measures" will be taken.

[Kang Shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: "(North Korea's) violation of the Armistice Agreement is clear and the responsibility lies with North Korea, so we will carry out corresponding measures and implement them in phases."]

During North Korea's wooden-box landmine provocation on August 4, 2015, the South Korean military announced after six days that it was the work of North Korean forces and resumed loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North for the first time in 11 years.

Tensions reached their peak when North Korea launched an artillery attack on August 20, ten days after the broadcasts resumed, prompting return fire from South Korean forces. However, military tensions subsided after the two Koreas held marathon, four-day high-level talks at Panmunjom, agreeing to North Korea expressing regret and the South halting its loudspeaker broadcasts.

Minister Kang, however, withheld details regarding the specific methods of the "corresponding measures."

[Kang Shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: "There are ways to cooperate with the international community, and there are also methods to respond effectively and militarily."]

Various options, including the resumption of psychological warfare such as loudspeaker broadcasts, are being discussed. What level and method of "corresponding measures" the military decides on based on the final investigation findings, and how North Korea responds, are expected to be key factors in managing the situation going forward.

(Video by Jo Chun-dong and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Jung Sung-hoon)