Vowing to hit back, South Korea yesterday said that North Korean soldiers laid three mines that exploded last week at the border maiming two South Korean soldiers.
The South Korean military, which investigated the mines, said that Pyongyang would face unspecified “searing” consequences for the mine blasts at the Seoul-controlled southern part of the heavily fortified demilitarized zone that bisects the Korean Peninsula.
The US-led UN Command, which also conducted an investigation that blamed Pyongyang for the mines, condemned what it called violations of the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 fighting in the Korean War.
Photo: EPA
The two wounded soldiers had been on a routine patrol. One lost both legs, while the other lost one leg.
The explosions come amid continuing bad feelings between the two sides over the establishment of a UN office in Seoul tasked with investigating the North’s alleged abysmal human rights conditions. Pyongyang also refuses to release several South Koreans detained in the North.
Tensions are expected to increase next week when Seoul and Washington launch annual summertime military drills, which the allies said are routine but that Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal.
Seoul’s announcement on the mines is likely to trigger a furious response from Pyongyang, which has denied a slew of previous provocations that South Korea has blamed on North Korea. The North typically calls the South’s statements attempts to create anti-Pyongyang sentiment. In 2010, Seoul and a group of international expert investigators blamed Pyongyang for torpedoing a warship and killing 46 South Korean sailors. The North denies responsibility.
It is unclear what retaliatory measures Seoul might take for the mine explosion. Military strikes are unlikely, as the North has placed a huge portion of its artillery within striking distance of Seoul. Economic sanctions could be possible, but those imposed after the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship are a source of tension between the rivals.
Critics said the measures have also hurt South Korean businessmen who had earlier dealings with North Korea.
Investigations by South Korea and the US-led UN Command showed that splinters from the explosions were from wooden box mines, which are used by North Korea, according to South Korean Ministry of National Defense.
A statement from the UN Command Military Armistice Commission said the investigation determined that the devices were recently laid. It ruled out that they were old land mines that had drifted from their original placements because of rain or shifting soil.
Major General Ku Hong-mo of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that Seoul believes North Korean soldiers secretly crossed the border and laid the mines between July 23 and Monday last week, the day before the three mines exploded.
The 4km-wide demilitarized zone is jointly overseen by the UN Command and North Korea. South Korean troops patrol the southern part of the buffer zone, according to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.
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