South Korea Says North Korea Has Planted Nearly 1 Million Landmines Along Inter-Korean Border DMZ

South Korea says North Korea has laid nearly 1 million more landmines along the inter-Korean demilitarized zone

October 24

North Korea has laid more than 960,000 additional landmines along the border with South Korea over the past two years, according to South Korean parliamentary and military sources.

Nearly 2 million mines were already buried along the demilitarized zone, the buffer area between the two countries, and North Korea has now been adding to them en masse.

Analysts say this is a sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been strengthening border fortifications since designating South Korea as a "principal enemy."

Tensions between the two countries rose further after a landmine explosion at the border on September 21 last year wounded three South Korean soldiers.

After a joint on-site inspection by the South Korean military and UN Command confirmed that a North Korean-planted anti-personnel mine had been found on the South Korean side of the border line, South Korea demanded that the North apologize and take responsibility.

However, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, dismissed the investigation as a staged drama designed to provoke North Korea, and threatened retaliation if border fortification work is disrupted.

Currently, North Korean troops are said to be increasingly installing barbed-wire fencing along the border line, laying additional landmines and building anti-tank barriers.

Pyongyang has also said it will redeploy loudspeakers for psychological warfare propaganda toward South Korea and has prepared new countermeasure options.

Ref & Photo: The Independent

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