South Korea's defence ministry said it is preparing a response aimed at forcing an apology for a September 21 mine blast in the DMZ that seriously wounded two soldiers. Pyongyang has rejected the accusation.
South Korea is preparing a response intended to force North Korea to apologise for a mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone that seriously wounded two South Korean soldiers, defence ministry spokesperson Chung Bin-na said on Tuesday.
The September 21 blast wounded three troops, two of them seriously. Seoul has said a joint investigation with the United Nations Command found North Korean mines caused the explosion. Chung did not specify the measures under consideration.
Chung said North Korea should remove mines it planted south of the Military Demarcation Line, while also noting that the two Koreas differ on the exact line. Seoul is calling for talks on that misalignment.
North Korea on Friday rejected the accusation as groundless and dismissed the demand for an apology, KCNA reported. Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang had not deliberately planted mines in the border zone, according to the same agency as cited by Reuters.
The ministry statement is a new official step; the blast itself dates to September 21 and is not treated as a separate event in this file.
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- Seoul is demanding an apology
- Kim Yo Jong, via KCNA, called the accusation groundless