00:00Three of our soldiers were injured due to a landmine explosion in the DMZ.
00:02Two of them were severely wounded.
00:04It has been confirmed that all three of them were military personnel in leadership roles,
00:07according to domestic media reports.
00:09The ranks of the officers involved are one battalion commander and two sergeants first class.
00:13Let's take a proper look at this today.
00:15Let's get right into it.
00:15But before that, for those who want the fastest news in Korea, please visit SBS News.
00:19On September 21st, during a DMZ'd operation in the Army's 25th Division,
00:23three military officers were injured in a landmine explosion.
00:26Two of the injured officers were urgently evacuated by emergency helicopter.
00:28It is reported that the remaining officer was evacuated by land.
00:32They were all reportedly transferred to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.
00:35The critically injured officer, who suffered a severe injury,
00:37including a traumatic ankle amputation, was evacuated by helicopter.
00:40He is currently undergoing surgery, and his life is reported not to be in danger.
00:43Also, because there were other soldiers carrying out the operation together,
00:46they planned to triage them and evacuate them to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital
00:49for detailed checkups to assess their health status,
00:52so there is a possibility that the number of casualties could increase beyond three.
00:55They reportedly met with the accident while conducting route-clearing operations.
00:57Representative Yoo Young-won of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee stated,
01:00The area where today's explosion occurred is near a minefield constructed south of the MDL
01:03by the North Korean military between last year and early this year, adding,
01:06During this time regarding the issue I raised about the North Korean military's minefield encroaching on the MDL,
01:09the Ministry of National Defense said they had identified some terrain changes.
01:11They are consulting with the UN command,
01:13and he also pointed out that they have consistently maintained an ambiguous and passive stance,
01:17repeatedly claiming they cannot confirm anything.
01:19Of course, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the location was far from the minefields laid by North Korea,
01:22adding that circumstantial evidence suggests the accident was caused by a landmine explosion.
01:25The JCS reportedly plans to conduct the investigation while keeping various possibilities open.
01:28Currently, the statements from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Representative Yoo Young-won's office conflict with each other.
01:33So I think we will need to watch a bit longer to find out for sure.
01:35First of all, the Joint Chiefs of Staff clearly denied the possibility of a firefight, stating that it was not
01:39gunfire.
01:40And according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whether it was a landmine explosion remains only a preliminary assessment,
01:44but they believe there is a high possibility of a landmine explosion.
01:46They also stated that the blast sound was not heard multiple times,
01:48and the United Nations command is expected to participate in the investigation.
01:50Of course, it has not yet been confirmed whether the exploded mine was planted by the North Korean military,
01:55installed by our military, or was a displaced mine.
01:58There are also suggestions that an unidentified landmine may have detonated during a DMZ reconnaissance route clearing operation,
02:03alongside the possibility that a landmine washed down by torrential rain in North Korea could have exploded.
02:07First of all, North Korea crossed the MDL in mid-August for the first time this year.
02:11However, the situation changed rapidly after that centered on the Eastern Front,
02:14North Korean troops have repeatedly crossed the MDL,
02:16since August 15th confirmed crossing incidents alone have reached 20 so far.
02:20Considering that North Korean troops crossed the MDL 17 times throughout the entire year of 2025 last year,
02:25it is a fairly unusual situation.
02:27That means there have been more crossings in just the past month or so than there were in the entire
02:31year.
02:32When North Korean troops approach the MDL and show signs of crossing,
02:35our military responds by broadcasting warnings,
02:37and when they actually cross the MDL, we fire warning shots to drive them back.
02:40In most recent crossing incidents,
02:42North Korean troops repeatedly retreated back north after our military fired warning shots.
02:47The problem is that this isn't an isolated incident.
02:49Given that North Korean troops are repeatedly crossing the MDL in specific areas,
02:53our military continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground.
02:56In particular, primarily along the Eastern Front,
02:58two to three North Korean soldiers, presumed to be a patrol team,
03:01have repeatedly approached a specific sector, crossed the MDL,
03:03and then retreated only after our military issued warning broadcasts and warning shots.
03:07While this hasn't escalated into a major engagement yet,
03:10it's worth noting that troops from both north and south are repeatedly coming face-to-face right near the MDL.
03:15On top of that, new details were recently disclosed during a National Assembly Interpolation session.
03:20As the North Korean military pushes to fortify the border,
03:22they are constructing tactical roads, minefields, and electrified fences near the MDL.
03:26Specifically, in the 25th Division sector on the Western Front,
03:29six suspected North Korean minefields were identified,
03:32and it was revealed that not just some,
03:34but all six of them crossed south of the MDL by about 10 to 15 meters.
03:38This part is quite significant, along with reports that North Korean troops have been crossing the MDL
03:41while carrying out various construction projects at the front lines.
03:44Circumstances have emerged indicating that actual installations and minefields
03:47have encroached south of the military demarcation line.
03:49The Joint Chiefs of Staff explain that they do not consider these North Korean troop movements
03:52to be unusual activity or an incursion with specific intentions.
03:55They explain that as construction proceeds on the remaining unfinished sections this year,
03:59MDL violations are being detected in the course of that work.
04:01They are saying that as North Korean troops carry out their work,
04:03there are repeated instances where they misjudge their position,
04:06or where equipment and personnel cross the demarcation line.
04:08However, apart from the military's assessment that these are not intentional incursions,
04:12the fact remains that situations where they cross the MDL continue to occur on the ground.
04:15In particular, we need to take into account the fact that the scope of North Korea's frontline construction is expanding.
04:19Since North Korea defined inter-Korean relations as hostile relations between two separate states in December 2023,
04:24it has continued its moves to sever various access routes and facilities that used to connect the two Koreas.
04:27Since 2024, they have also continued efforts in the northern part of the DMZ to lay landmines,
04:32install wire fences, and create barren clearing dome.
04:34With the addition of tactical roads and barrier walls,
04:36analysts suggest that the North Korean military is transforming the area around the military demarcation line
04:40into a new form of border security system.
04:42Our military projects that this border-making process will be completed around 2028.
04:46As the construction period is long and covers an extensive area,
04:49it is likely that North Korean military movements will continue to be detected around the MDL going forward.
04:52What requires even more attention is North Korea's response to South Korea's protests and calls for dialogue.
04:58While our government proposed discussing the MDL baseline issue starting in 2025,
05:01North Korea has not provided any separate response.
05:04Without the two Koreas being able to confirm the location and standards of the military demarcation line through dialogue,
05:09the North Korean military's on-site work continues.
05:11Our military is also stepping up its response.
05:13As North Korean troops repeatedly approach and cross the MDL,
05:16we are reviewing plans to install surveillance equipment further north inside the DMZ,
05:19while also bolstering our alert posture.
05:21We requested the UN command to investigate whether the North Korean military's MDL crossing violated the armistice agreement.
05:26The UNC stated that it continues to monitor activities in the DMZ in accordance with the armistice
05:30and is coordinating closely with the South Korean side.
05:32They also expressed their view that efforts are being made to reduce the possibility of miscalculation
05:36and maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
05:38Why then is North Korea continuing with these operations?
05:40What our military authorities currently view as most significant is their move to undermine the meaning of the MDL itself.
05:44Ever since North Korea defined inter-Korean relations as relations between two separate states,
05:48it has been continually altering the facilities tied to the existing inter-Korean border system.
05:51As the installation of new barbed wire fences and minefields continues alongside tactical road construction,
05:55North Korea is establishing its own defined border system on the ground.
05:57We must also take a look at the North Korean military's firepower deployments in this context.
06:00North Korea has recently reinforced its forward military capabilities
06:02by deploying new 240mm and 600mm multiple rocket launchers,
06:06self-propelled artillery, and tactical missiles near the armistice line.
06:09Notably, this is reportedly the first time that the 600mm multiple rocket launchers have been deployed near the armistice line.
06:14It has also been identified that large-scale facilities have been successively built at North Korean military bases south of
06:18Kaesong.
06:19From 2023 through this year, large buildings measuring about 52 meters in length have continued to be constructed.
06:23It is reported that the facilities confirmed so far amount to at least 21.
06:26The fact that these facilities are located merely dozens of kilometers away from the DMZ is also a point military
06:30authorities are paying close attention to.
06:31This indicates that while North Korea alters the terrain and border facilities around the MDL,
06:34it is simultaneously expanding its military infrastructure in the frontline areas.
06:37On top of this, the North Korean military's construction speed has been accelerating recently.
06:40More personnel than before are being deployed simultaneously,
06:42and it's understood that, on average, about 3,000 to 5,000 North Korean soldiers are being mobilized daily for
06:47the frontline construction.
06:48Compared to the past, this scale is known to have increased nearly up to five-fold.
06:52Analyses suggest that the North Korean military is speeding up the work by mobilizing personnel across multiple areas at the
06:56same time to shorten the construction period.
06:58Instead of completing work in one area and moving on to the next,
07:01they are being slotted simultaneously removing soil, laying landmines, and setting up barbed wire fences and roads across multiple sectors.
07:06Because of this, the pace of changes to North Korea's frontline facilities has also become faster than before.
07:10And here, we also need to examine the characteristics of the MDL itself.
07:13While the military demarcation line is marked as a single line on maps,
07:16clear border facilities are not installed across every single section on the ground.
07:18Under these circumstances, if North Korea continues to lay new minefields, fences, and roads near the MDL,
07:23the likelihood grows that the boundaries perceived by the South and North on the ground could begin to diverge.
07:26In particular, as incidents of North Korean soldiers crossing the MDL during their operations keep recurring,
07:30it has become crucial to confirm what reference points they are actually using on the ground to carry out their
07:33work.
07:34As North Korea continues to install new facilities over time,
07:36the existing terrain and on-site structures could change significantly,
07:39increasing the possibility that the South and North Korean militaries might perceive different locations as the military demarcation line.
07:44In such a situation, it's hard to rule out the risk that a minor misunderstanding or misjudgment could lead to
07:48an actual military clash.
07:49On top of that, in the Gosang area of Gangwon province,
07:52there have been multiple instances spotted where North Korean troops laid landmines south of the MDL during their land-clearing
07:56operations.
07:57Because of this, our military is continuously monitoring the North Korean military's operations and topographical changes,
08:01while reviewing necessary countermeasures.
08:04For more information, please visit our website at www.gmail.com for more information on www.gmail.com.
