Il Nuovo Postiglione - Seoul weighs steps to force North Korea landmine apology

A joint South Korean-UN investigation concluded that two landmines that exploded in the DMZ last month were planted by North Korean forces about a year ago, prompting Seoul to demand an official apology.

It has also called on the nuclear-armed North to remove any other mines planted on the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that runs through the DMZ, the heavily fortified frontier that has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility, with Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader, slamming the call for an apology as "despicable".

"We are not ruling out any options or prejudging anything when it comes to additional measures," defence ministry spokeswoman Chung Bin-na told reporters Tuesday when asked if steps were being planned to force an apology from Pyongyang.

Bin-na did not offer specifics about what actions might be employed.

Landmine incidents in the DMZ have previously heightened tensions between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.

In 2015, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded in a landmine blast on the southern side of the DMZ, with one losing both legs.

Seoul concluded at the time that North Korean troops had crossed the MDL to plant the mines, an accusation Pyongyang denied.

Since 2024, Pyongyang's military has laid mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier as part of efforts to permanently seal it off.

During the operation, North Korea also blew up the northern sections of inter-Korean roads no longer in use.

M.Vacanti--INP