(2nd LD) S. Korea blames N.K. for DMZ mine blast; UNC cites armistice breach over active mine

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(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout) By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea blamed North Korea on Wednesday for last week's land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that injured its troops, demanding an apology and responsible measures from Pyongyang.

The South Korean military's statement came hours after North Korea denied involvement in the Sept. 21 mine blast on the southern side of the heavily fortified border and dismissed Seoul's claims as a "groundless" conspiracy.

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.

Lt. Gen. Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), delivers a statement to media at the defense ministry headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, on Sept. 30, 2026. (Yonhap)

The U.N. Command (UNC), which oversees the armistice agreement, said it determines an armistice violation has occurred in the DMZ explosion, based on the findings of a joint investigation with the South's military.

"UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred. UNC is addressing the violation through established Armistice mechanisms," it said in a separate emailed statement.

The UNC, however, did not cite the blast itself as a violation, but pointed to an active North Korean mine discovered Tuesday on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) during the joint inspection.

South Korean officials said at least four land mines were buried at and near the blast site, including the two that exploded. The incident injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously wounded.

A third mine was spotted by the soldiers retreating from the scene on the day of the explosion, while a fourth was discovered during Tuesday's joint probe with the UNC. The UNC's statement appears to cite the fourth mine as the armistice violation.

The South Korean statement marked its first official response directed at Pyongyang over the land mine blast, confirming the North's accountability for the incident.

North Korea denied its involvement in a statement issued Wednesday by Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of its leader Kim Jong-un, accusing Seoul of fabricating the findings and warning of "merciless" retaliation if the South takes any corresponding actions.

Announcing its preliminary findings late Monday, the JCS had determined North Korean resin antipersonnel mines deliberately planted on the southern MDL were "highly likely" the cause of the mine explosion.

This photo, released by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sept. 29, 2026, shows a North Korean resin antipersonnel mine that the South Korean military found the same day near the site of mine explosions inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas that left three South Korean service members injured. The discovery came a day after the military said North Korean land mines were "highly likely" the cause of the Sept. 21 blast south of the Military Demarcation Line. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Two separate blasts occurred during an operation to clear a path for a joint inspection between the South's military and the UNC to verify Seoul's suspicions that Pyongyang illegally buried land mines across the border in violation of the armistice.

The armistice agreement, signed at the end of the war, prohibits hostile acts "within, from or against" the DMZ, the buffer zone covering the MDL. It also bans border crossings unless authorized by the Military Armistice Commission.

Seoul has grown increasingly wary of the North's border fortification work under way since 2024, which includes installing barbed-wire fences and laying land mines as close as 5 to 10 meters from the MDL.

South Korea suspects that the North has been crossing the border onto the South's side to plant mines in violation of the armistice.

Attention is now drawn to what follow-up action the UNC, responsible for the armistice enforcement, will take regarding the violation it has confirmed.

Following a 2015 land mine incident that seriously injured two South Korean troops, the UNC condemned Pyongyang for committing a breach of the armistice and called for a general-level meeting. The UNC had reportedly sent a telephone notice to the North Korean side at the time to propose working-level talks for a high-level military meeting.

The preliminary forensic analysis released by the South's military found traces of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and brown material on the mine fragments retrieved from the scene and the soldiers' equipment. The JCS said they were consistent with features of North Korean antipersonnel land mines that use plastic resin rather than traditional wooden casing.

elly@yna.co.kr (END)

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(2nd LD) S. Korea blames N.K. for DMZ mine blast; UNC cites armistice breach over active mine

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（注意：重写标题、导语；全文更新）金承妍

首尔，9月30日（韩联社）——韩国周三指责朝鲜应对上周在非军事区（DMZ）内发生的导致其士兵受伤的地雷爆炸事件负责，并要求平壤道歉并采取负责任的措施。

韩国军方发表声明的几个小时前，朝鲜否认参与了9月21日发生在戒备森严的朝韩边境南部的地雷爆炸事件，并驳斥首尔的说法是“毫无根据的”阴谋论。

联合参谋本部表示，朝鲜埋设地雷导致非军事区爆炸，违反了结束1950-53年朝鲜战争的停战协定，并呼吁平壤立即停止其边境防御工事建设工作。

“这公然违反​​了停战协定，破坏了现有的朝韩协议的精神，必须立即制止，”联合参谋本部作战部长姜铉宇中将在新闻发布会上表示。

康表示：“我们强烈要求朝鲜道歉并采取负责任的措施。我们明确指出，朝鲜应对未来可能出现的任何后果承担全部责任。”

康还敦促平壤“立即停止”加剧朝鲜半岛紧张局势的边境强化活动。

2026年9月30日，韩国联合参谋本部作战部长姜铉宇中将在首尔龙山国防部总部向媒体发表讲话。（韩联社）

负责监督停战协定的联合国军司令部表示，根据与韩国军方联合调查的结果，认定非军事区爆炸事件违反了停战协定。

“北卡罗来纳大学认定发生了违反停战协定的行为。北卡罗来纳大学正在通过既定的停战机制处理这一违约事件，”该校在另一份电子邮件声明中表示。

然而，联合国军并没有将爆炸本身视为违规行为，而是指出在周二的联合检查中，在军事分界线（MDL）韩国一侧发现了一枚朝鲜地雷。

韩国官员表示，爆炸地点及其附近至少埋设了四枚地雷，其中两枚发生了爆炸。事件造成三名韩国士兵受伤，其中两人伤势严重。

爆炸当天，撤离现场的士兵发现了第三枚地雷；周二与北卡罗来纳大学联合调查时，又发现了第四枚地雷。北卡罗来纳大学的声明似乎将第四枚地雷认定为违反停战协定的行为。

韩国的声明是其首次就地雷爆炸事件对平壤做出正式回应，确认朝鲜应对此事件负责。

朝鲜周三发表声明，否认参与此事。声明由朝鲜领导人金正恩的妹妹金与正发表，指责首尔捏造调查结果，并警告称，如果韩国采取任何相应行动，朝鲜将进行“无情”报复。

周一晚些时候，联合参谋本部公布了初步调查结果，认定朝鲜故意埋设在南部军事分界线上的树脂杀伤人员地雷“极有可能”是造成地雷爆炸的原因。

这张照片由韩国联合参谋本部于2026年9月29日发布，照片显示一枚朝鲜制造的树脂杀伤人员地雷。韩国军方于当日在朝韩非军事区（DMZ）内发现该地雷，该地雷爆炸地点附近，造成三名韩国军人受伤。此前一天，韩国军方表示，朝鲜地雷“极有可能”是9月21日发生在军事分界线以南爆炸事件的罪魁祸首。（照片禁止出售）（韩联社）

在韩国军方和联合国军联合进行联合检查，以核实首尔方面怀疑平壤违反停战协定，非法越境埋设地雷的行动中，发生了两起独立的爆炸。

战争结束时签署的停战协定禁止在非军事区（涵盖军事分界线的缓冲区）内、从非军事区出发或针对非军事区采取敌对行动。协定还禁止未经军事停战委员会授权的越境行为。

首尔方面对朝鲜自 2024 年以来一直在进行的边境防御工程越来越感到警惕，这些工程包括安装带刺铁丝网和在距离军事分界线 5 至 10 米的地方埋设地雷。

韩国怀疑朝鲜违反停战协定，越过边境到韩国境内布雷。

现在人们的注意力集中在负责执行停战协定的联合国军将对其已确认的违规行为采取哪些后续行动上。

2015年，韩国士兵在朝鲜触雷重伤后，联合国军司令部谴责平壤违反停战协定，并呼吁举行高级别会谈。据报道，联合国军司令部当时曾致电朝方，提议先举行工作级别会谈，再举行高级别军事会议。

韩国军方公布的初步法医分析结果显示，在现场回收的地雷碎片和士兵装备上发现了三硝基甲苯（TNT）和棕色物质的痕迹。韩国联合参谋本部表示，这些特征与朝鲜使用塑料树脂而非传统木质外壳的杀伤人员地雷相符。

elly@yna.co.kr（完）

联合国军司令部称，非军事区地雷爆炸事件违反了停战协定。

（导语）朝鲜否认对非军事区地雷爆炸事件负责，并警告韩国将进行报复

（导语）国防部长称，在非军事区爆炸地点附近发现的朝鲜地雷已被掩埋

（导语）韩国军方在非军事区爆炸地点附近发现1枚朝鲜地雷

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（第二份法律文件）韩国指责朝鲜在非军事区引爆地雷；联合国大会则称朝鲜违反停战协定，引爆了该地雷