S. Korea urges N. Korea to take 'responsible measures' over mine explosion incident at UN

South Korea urged North Korea to take responsible measures at a U.N. meeting in New York Thursday after a Sept. 21 land mine explosion near the inter-Korean border injured three South Korean soldiers. South Korean Ambassador Cha Ji-hoon said a joint investigation confirmed that North Korean forces deliberately planted the mine south of the Military Demarcation Line, violating the Armistice Agreement. North Korea rejected the accusation and defended its nuclear weapons program as necessary to protect its sovereignty.

The joint investigation involved the South Korean military and the United Nations Command and was supported by forensic analysis.

Cha Ji-hoon called on North Korea to apologize, cease escalatory actions and return to full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

North Korea described South Korea’s accusation as an attempt to shift blame for its own actions and portrayed Pyongyang’s border fortification efforts as being misrepresented as a military incursion.

Published Oct 9, 2026 8:28 am KST

Maj. Gen. Yang Jin-hyuk, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s director of operations, holds up a previously recovered North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine during a briefing at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

South Korea urged North Korea to take "responsible measures" Thursday at the United Nations, accusing Pyongyang of violating the Armistice Agreement by deliberately planting a land mine that injured three South Korean soldiers near the inter-Korean border last month.

During a committee meeting of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Cha Ji-hoon said a joint investigation by the South Korean military and the United Nations Command (UNC) confirmed that a Sept. 21 explosion was caused by a land mine deliberately planted by North Korean forces south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the two Koreas.

"A joint on-site investigation by ROK military and the UNC supported by forensic analysis confirmed that the explosion was caused by a landmine deliberately planted by DPRK forces south of the military demarcation line," Cha said, referring to the two Koreas by their official names, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively.

Cha said the incident constituted a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement, adding, "We urge the DPRK to cease such escalatory actions upon apology and take responsible measures."

The North Korean representative, however, rejected Seoul's accusation, describing it as an attempt to portray Pyongyang's efforts to fortify its southern border as a military incursion.

"This is no more than poor trick of the ROK military to shift the blame of its own onto the DPRK," the representative said.

The Koreas also reiterated their opposing positions on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Cha reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and called on North Korea to return to full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The North Korean representative defended Pyongyang's nuclear weapons as an inevitable choice to protect its sovereignty against what it described as the "decadeslong U.S. nuclear threat."

9月21日，朝韩边境附近发生地雷爆炸，造成三名韩国士兵受伤。周四，韩国在纽约联合国大会上敦促朝鲜采取负责任的措施。韩国驻韩大使车智勋表示，联合调查证实，朝鲜军队蓄意在军事分界线以南埋设地雷，违反了停战协定。朝鲜否认了这一指控，并辩称其核武器计划是维护国家主权所必需的。

此次联合调查由韩国军方和联合国军司令部共同进行，并得到了法医分析的支持。

车智勋呼吁朝鲜道歉，停止升级行动，并全面遵守《不扩散核武器条约》和联合国安理会相关决议。

朝鲜称韩国的指责是企图转移自身责任，并称平壤的边境防御工事被歪曲为军事入侵。

发布于2026年10月9日上午8:28（韩国标准时间）

周一，韩国联合参谋本部作战部长杨镇赫少将在首尔国防部举行的新闻发布会上，展示了一枚此前缴获的朝鲜塑料杀伤人员地雷。（韩国时报 沈贤哲 摄）

韩国周四在联合国敦促朝鲜采取“负责任的措施”，指责平壤违反停战协定，故意埋设地雷，导致上个月在朝韩边境附近三名韩国士兵受伤。

在纽约举行的联合国大会第81届会议委员会会议上，韩国常驻联合国代表车智勋表示，韩国军方和联合国军司令部（UNC）的联合调查证实，9月21日的爆炸是由朝鲜军队故意埋设在朝韩军事分界线（MDL）以南的地雷引起的。

“韩国军方和联合国军联合进行的现场调查，以及法医分析证实，爆炸是由朝鲜军队故意埋设在军事分界线以南的地雷引起的，”车说，他指的是朝鲜和韩国的正式名称，即大韩民国和朝鲜民主主义人民共和国。

车先生表示，该事件明显违反了停战协定，并补充说：“我们敦促朝鲜在道歉后停止此类升级行动，并采取负责任的措施。”

然而，朝鲜代表驳斥了首尔的指控，称这是企图将平壤加强南部边境的努力描绘成军事入侵。

“这不过是韩国军方将自身责任推卸给朝鲜的拙劣伎俩，”该代表说道。

朝韩双方还重申了他们对平壤核武器计划的对立立场。

车重申了首尔对核不扩散的承诺，并呼吁朝鲜恢复全面遵守《不扩散核武器条约》和联合国安理会相关决议。

朝鲜代表辩称，平壤拥有核武器是保护其主权、对抗所谓“长达数十年的美国核威胁”的必然选择。