Workers’ Party department director Kim Yo Jong corrected the date of a border inspection and reaffirmed North Korea’s October loudspeaker plan amid a dispute over a mine incident that injured three South Korean soldiers.
In an Oct. 5 briefing, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said an inquiry with the United Nations Command found that North Korean antipersonnel mines had been deliberately placed south of the Military Demarcation Line. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in the Sept. 21 incident. In a statement dated Sept. 29 and published the next day, Kim denied North Korean responsibility for the blasts.
Kim, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said she toured several border fortification sites with Korean People’s Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon on Oct. 21. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) initially dated the visit Oct. 20; Kim corrected that account in a later statement.
KCNA described the construction as part of North Korea’s effort to make its separation from the South permanent. It reported Pak warning that South Korean shots endangering North Korean personnel at the sites could prompt military action.
The United Nations Command says defensive mine placement north of the demarcation line can be permitted under the armistice. It says placing mines south of the line violates the agreement.
Kim reiterated North Korea’s border loudspeaker plan. She said the speakers would operate before October ends but gave no specific start date.
