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South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul on Tuesday described a mine-clearing operation inside the Demilitarized Zone as a “decisive” response to North Korea, a day after a joint investigation concluded that North Korean mines caused a Sept. 21 blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers.
“Such a mine-clearing operation is unprecedented in history,” Kang told reporters at the Defense Ministry compound, according to Yonhap News Agency.
“I believe the operation was a decisive response on our side,” he added.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.N. Command said their investigation found that antipersonnel mines deliberately planted by North Korean troops south of the Military Demarcation Line caused the explosion.
Following the investigation, South Korean forces and the U.N. Command identified additional mines around the blast site and removed a minefield south of the demarcation line on Monday.
South Korea has demanded an apology from Pyongyang and the immediate removal of other mines it says were planted on the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line in violation of the armistice agreement.
The military said the mines contained materials consistent with North Korean devices, while fragments recovered from the wounded soldiers matched North Korean plastic antipersonnel mines previously found near the Imjin River.
A joint South Korean-U.N. investigation also concluded that two mines involved in the incident had been planted by North Korean forces about a year earlier.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it was considering additional steps to pressure North Korea to apologize.
“We are not ruling out any options or prejudging anything when it comes to additional measures,” ministry spokeswoman Chung Bin-na told reporters.
She did not provide details on what actions could be taken.
North Korea has denied responsibility.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, rejected Seoul’s findings as fabricated, called the demand for an apology “despicable” and warned of retaliation if South Korea takes corresponding action.
Landmine incidents in the DMZ have previously heightened tensions between the two Koreas.
In 2015, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded in a mine explosion on the southern side of the DMZ, with one losing both legs.
Seoul concluded at the time that North Korean troops had crossed the Military Demarcation Line to plant the mines, an accusation Pyongyang denied.
Since 2024, North Korea’s military has laid mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier as part of efforts to permanently seal it off.
North Korea also destroyed northern sections of inter-Korean roads that were no longer in use.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
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