Unification minister says response to DMZ blast should not derail peace efforts

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SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has said South Korea's response to the recent North Korean land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) should not undermine efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In a Facebook post from Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday (local time), Chung said the government should conduct a "thorough investigation" and "truth finding" into the Sept. 21 DMZ blast caused by mines planted by the North and respond accordingly.

He said, however, those responses should not "be used as an excuse to belittle or distort our efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula."

"We should reflect on why this tragic event repeats and seek more fundamental answers," he added.

"In Northern Island, which has turned past tragedy into today's hope, I reaffirm my resolve to end the long-running war on the Korean Peninsula and build a lasting peace regime," he wrote.

A captured screenshot from Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's Facebook page (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The minister cut short his trip to Europe after a military investigation found North Korea responsible for last week's land mine explosion inside the DMZ that injured three South Korean soldiers.

He had been due to visit Northern Ireland, Ireland and Germany through Oct. 5 to study how those places resolved past conflicts and built peace but scrapped the Ireland and Germany legs.

The minister is set to return home later in the day to deal with the blast.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) blamed North Korea on Wednesday for the DMZ incident and called it a blatant violation of the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The South also demanded an apology from Pyongyang.

North Korea denied involvement in the mine blast, rejecting Seoul's announcement as a "groundless conspiracy."

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr (END)

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Unification minister says response to DMZ blast should not derail peace efforts

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首尔，10月1日（韩联社）——韩国统一部长官郑东荣表示，韩国对近期朝鲜在非军事区（DMZ）引爆地雷事件的回应不应破坏朝鲜半岛和平建设的努力。

周二（当地时间），钟在北爱尔兰贝尔法斯特通过 Facebook 发帖称，政府应该对 9 月 21 日由北爱尔兰埋设地雷引起的非军事区爆炸事件进行“彻底调查”和“真相调查”，并作出相应的回应。

但他表示，这些回应不应“被用作贬低或歪曲我们在朝鲜半岛和平进程中所做努力的借口”。

“我们应该反思为什么这种悲剧事件会重演，并寻求更根本的答案，”他补充道。

“在将过去的悲剧转化为今天的希望的朝鲜半岛北部，我重申我结束朝鲜半岛长期战争并建立持久和平机制的决心，”他写道。

一张截取自韩国统一部长官郑东荣Facebook页面的屏幕截图（照片非卖品）（韩联社）

在军事调查认定朝鲜应对上周在非军事区内发生的导致三名韩国士兵受伤的地雷爆炸事件负责后，这位部长缩短了欧洲之行。

他原计划在 10 月 5 日前访问北爱尔兰、爱尔兰和德国，考察这些地方如何解决过去的冲突并建立和平，但取消了爱尔兰和德国之行。

部长将于当天晚些时候返回家中处理爆炸事件。

韩国联合参谋本部周三指责朝鲜应对非军事区事件负责，并称其公然违反了结束1950-53年朝鲜战争的停战协定。韩国方面还要求平壤道歉。

朝鲜否认参与地雷爆炸事件，并驳斥首尔的声明，称其为“毫无根据的阴谋”。

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr (完)

统一部长因非军事区爆炸事件缩短欧洲之行

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统一部长将于本周起访问爱尔兰、北爱尔兰和德国。

在朝鲜有亲属的韩国人数量已降至不足33000人

统一部计划向平壤医院运送1400多件医疗物资。

统一部长：如果朝鲜先实现无核化，就不可能与朝鲜进行对话。

统一部长表示，对非军事区爆炸事件的回应不应破坏和平努力。