A critical prerequisite for activities in the #DMZ is demining. There are upwards of 2 million mines and explosive remnants in the southern half of the #DMZ alone, several of which have being discovered frequently at the #WhiteHorseHill operation sites. pic.twitter.com/LerONIrhhO
— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) July 13, 2022
Before and after the August 28, 1967 attack on Camp Liberty Bell, North Korean commandoes secretly emplaced mines on roads used by U.S. troops along the DMZ. The mines used are called box mines and is the same type of crudely constructed mine that maimed two ROK soldiers back in 2015.
A South Korean officer gives an account on wooden-box mines during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea on Aug 10, 2015.
The first U.S. soldier killed by one of these mines in August 1967 was Specialist Billy J. Cook from the 2nd Infantry Division. The Jeep he was traveling in on August 22, 1967 was destroyed by a mine killing him and wounding one other soldier. Cook was originally from Virginia and left behind a wife who was living in Indiana at the time.
Aug. 26, 1967 Stars & Stripes newspaper
One week later and one day after the Camp Liberty Bell attack, three more U.S. soldiers were killed on August 29, 1967 by another landmine attack. A group of 2nd Infantry Division soldiers were traveling in three trucks, 2 kilometers south of the DMZ, when at approximately 6:30 PM two of the trucks hit landmines. The explosions killed Sergeant Phillip M. Corp, Private First Class Edgar W. McKee Jr., and Private First Class Paul G. Lund. Two other U.S. soldiers were wounded by the explosions. Three more soldiers from the Medical Evacuation vehicle sent in response were wounded as well when they hit a land mine.
Sept. 3, 1967 Stars & Stripes newspaper
These landmine attacks were just one of hundreds of attacks against U.S. and ROK forces between 1963 – 1969. North Korea was attempting to launch an insurgency within South Korea during a timeframe that the U.S. military was bogged down in Vietnam. The U.S. and ROK military’s ultimate success at defeating these attacks caused North Korea’s strategy to fail and popular support for the ROK government to grow within South Korea. Unfortunately the three U.S. soldiers killed by these landmines would not live see this.
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Please click the link below for more DMZ Flashpoints articles:
3 key invasion routes fm #NorthKorea to #SouthKorea: Cheolwon, Gaesong-Munsan (near JSA) & east coast (in Gangwon Prov) approaches. "Remains recovery" is a cover. If they really felt it priority, NK could return 500 still living SK POWs. Instead, invasion routes are clearing. https://t.co/mttjKYJCZS
South Korean troops begin work to remove land mines at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near Chorwon, Gangwon Province, on Oct. 2, 2018. (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap)
If the ROK is removing landmines which are part of their defenses along the DMZ, shouldn’t the North Koreans do something in return like withdraw large parts of their military away from the DMZ?:
South and North Korea will begin to implement the inter-Korean military accord signed during last week’s summit between their leaders in Pyongyang.
The two Koreas plan to remove mines and explosives in the Demilitarized Zone area located near Cherwon, Gangwon Province for two months from October first.
The removal is part of preparations for a joint excavation of remains of about 300 soldiers killed during the Korean War, including those of United Nations forces.
The two Koreas will also remove mines around the truce village of Panmunjeom from October first to 20th as part of a plan to disarm the troops in the Joint Security Area in the DMZ. [KBS World Radio]
Staff Sgts. Hah Jae-hun (L), who lost both of his legs in a land mine explosion blamed on North Korea during a search operation inside the Demilitarized Zone on Aug. 4, 2015, and Kim Jeong-won, who also lost one of his legs, pose in front of the “Peace Foot” statue during a ceremony to mark the 2nd anniversary of the North’s attack in Paju, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4, 2017. Three land mines were allegedly buried by North Korean soldiers. (Yonhap)
This is something that seems to happen from time to time which is random people getting killed by long forgotten landmines near the Korean DMZ:
The front of the badly damaged truck, whose driver was killed. / Yonhap
A dump truck driver was killed in an apparent landmine explosion at a farm in Cheorwon Country, Gangwon Province, on Wednesday afternoon.
The man, surnamed Han, was severely injured while carrying stones and earth from a construction site to a nearby farm. He died in hospital.
From August to October, military authorities searched for landmines at the construction site near Pungam Dam using excavators. After the military confirmed there were no landmines, Cheorwon County began moving the excavated soil. [Korea Times]
Via a reader tip comes this news that the North Koreans decided to do their part and begin a provocation cycle during the UFG16 military exercise by planting landmines at the Panmunjom peace village:
The American-led U.N. Command in South Korea on Tuesday accused North Korea of planting land mines near a truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.
Much of the border, one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, is strewn with land mines and laced with barbed wire. But South Korean media said no land mines had been planted in the area of the truce village of Panmunjom until North Korea placed an unspecified number there last week.
The U.N. Command said in a statement that it “strongly condemns” any North Korean action that jeopardizes the safety of personnel in the DMZ.
It said it wouldn’t speculate on why North Korea placed the mines there. Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said the North apparently planted the mines to prevent front-line North Korean soldiers from defecting to South Korea via Panmunjom. [Seattle Times]
You can read more at the link, but it would be surprising to see a North Korean soldier defect at Panmunjom because of how specially selected they are for that mission. Anyway according to the Joong Ang Ilbo the mines were planted near the Bridge of No Return:
Image of the Bridge of No Return via the DMZ webpage.
“The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities detected last week that the North Korean soldiers were planting multiple mines north of the Bridge of No Return near Panmunjom,” the source said. “It is the first time that they witnessed the North’s land mine placement in that area since the Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953.”
The Bridge of No Return is located inside the truce village, west of the Joint Security Area. The bridge crosses the military demarcation line between the two Koreas, and it was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War. The name came from the final ultimatum given to the prisoners of war before their repatriation, because they would never be allowed to return once they cross the bridge to return to their homeland.
“Under the regulations governing the truce, planting land mines is forbidden in the areas near the Panmunjom,” said a South Korean government official. “The guards are banned from carrying heavy weapons. The United Nations Command strongly protested to the North about the move.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but keep in mind that the Bridge of No Return was the location of the 1976 DMZ Axe Murder Incident. August 18th was the 40 year anniversary of this incident which leads me to believe the planting of the landmines was a North Korean jab at the US in regards to the anniversary of this incident.
A leg-shaped sculpture is seen at a park in Imjingak near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Dec. 23, 2013, as the Army holds an event to unveil the structure symbolizing the legs that the two soldiers — Ssg. Kim Jung-won and Ssg. Hah Jae-hun — lost in a landmine blast blamed on North Korea in August. At the event, the two soldiers were awarded national orders for their “bravery and contributions” to national security. Kim is walking again with a prosthetic leg while Ha, who lost both legs, is continuing his rehabilitation. (Yonhap)
Hopefully these ROK soldiers legs are able to be saved:
Two soldiers were seriously wounded in what is believed to be a landmine explosion in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone, the military said Tuesday.
The explosion took place on the southern side of the DMZ in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, at 7:40 a.m. while the two Army staff sergeants carried out a search mission there, according to the military.
The explosion nearly severed the soldiers’ legs and they were rushed to a military hospital, the military said, adding that they are not in critical condition.
“There’s not the possibility of North Korea’s involvement,” a military official said. Possibly a landmine is the cause of the explosion, he noted. [Korea Times]
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