S. Korea accuses DPRK of planting landmines south of MDL, demands apology

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean military on Monday accused the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of planting landmines south of the military demarcation line (MDL), demanding an apology from Pyongyang.

Lt. Gen. Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during a briefing at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Photo: AP)

Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a press briefing on the final investigation results that South Korean soldiers, who performed routine demilitarized zone (DMZ) operations south of the MDL, sustained severe injuries due to plastic anti-personnel landmines planted by the DPRK south of the MDL.

Kwon explained that the conclusion was based on the joint on-site investigation between the South Korean military and the United Nations Command from Sept. 26 to 29.

Kwon strongly urged the DPRK to immediately remove all landmines installed and offer a sincere apology to the South Korean service members who were injured in the explosion.

The incident occurred on Sept. 21 near the MDL, where three South Korean soldiers from the army's 25th division were injured while conducting a mission inside the southern side of the DMZ dividing the two Koreas.

Kim Yo Jong, department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said on Oct. 2 that South Korea intended "to plunge the situation in the Korean Peninsula again into a critical state" over a recent mine explosion along the border.

In a press statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the senior DPRK official called the mine explosion a "farce" created by Seoul, adding that Seoul's conclusion was "groundless."