South Korea plans to take the Sept. 21 mine incident to the U.N. Security Council as North Korea threatens new border steps over Seoul’s criticism of fence repairs.
Two explosions in the western Demilitarized Zone that day injured three South Korean soldiers. Yonhap News Agency reported that two were critically injured. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a joint investigation with the United Nations Command concluded North Korean mines caused the explosions. Pyongyang denies responsibility.
Kim Yo Jong, a department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang was preparing additional measures along the border. In a Thursday statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, she said loudspeakers aimed at South Korea could be ready within days.
Kim tied her warning to Seoul’s criticism of North Korea’s fence repairs, framing the criticism as interference. She said Seoul would face a “most horrible and distressing situation” if it continued.
The Associated Press has described North Korea’s border fortifications, including mines and barriers, as part of a policy to sever ties with South Korea. The agency also reported that Seoul’s loudspeaker broadcasts after a 2015 mine incident brought the two Koreas close to armed conflict.
Seoul says its warnings and warning fire are meant to deter North Korean troops from crossing the military demarcation line during construction. Defense Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said South Korea would take proportionate measures in response to North Korea’s moves along the border, without specifying what steps it might take.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told a parliamentary audit earlier this month that Seoul was weighing a letter, a presidential statement, a resolution or no Security Council action. At an Oct. 22 briefing, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government aimed to send the letter Thursday in New York.
