The United Nations Command Confirms that North Korean Landmine were a Violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement
Here is the ROK JCS and UNC’s response to the DMZ landmine explosion that seriously wounded two ROK Soldiers last week:
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the DMZ blast caused by mines planted by the North constitutes a breach of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, and called on Pyongyang to immediately stop its border fortification work.
“This constitutes a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements and must be halted immediately,” Lt. Gen. Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations at the JCS, said in a press briefing.
“We strongly demand an apology and responsible measures from the North,” Kang said. “We make it explicitly clear that North Korea bears full responsibility for any future consequences that may arise.”
Kang also urged Pyongyang to “immediately cease” its border-hardening activities that heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
You can read more at the link, but the ROK will never get an apology from North Korea. From what I am reading it appears these landmines were not old ones which causes the obvious question of why were they placed now? Were they possibly in response to the Key Resolve exercise held in August? Or maybe it was just an overzealous local commander looking to make a name for himself by injuring ROK troops? Anyone have any other theories?
