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Kim Yo-jong has renewed Pyongyang’s denial of responsibility for mine explosions that injured three South Korean soldiers and rejected Seoul’s call for an apology.
What has changed? · 02/10/2026, 11:40 UTC
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South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul has accused North Korea of breaching the Korean War armistice after two explosions injured three South Korean soldiers in the demilitarised zone (DMZ). Speaking at a parliamentary hearing, he cited preliminary military findings and said Seoul would take corresponding measures. [3]
The blasts occurred on 21 September in the western DMZ, about 10 metres south of the Military Demarcation Line, according to South Korea’s military. It classified two soldiers as seriously injured and one as lightly injured. President Lee Jae Myung later described all three as seriously injured. [1] [8]
The military says North Korean mines were highly likely to have caused the explosions. It cited forensic traces, a lack of South Korean mine-laying records for the area and traces of North Korean mine-laying found nearby in 2025. On 29 September, it reported finding a North Korean resin antipersonnel mine near the blast site during a joint investigation with United Nations Command. It assessed that mine as different from one soldiers had reported seeing after the explosions. [1] [4]
A Joint Chiefs of Staff official told NewsPim that it was not yet clear whether the two detonated mines had been laid where they exploded or had been displaced. The official also cautioned against assuming South Korean soldiers had been deliberately targeted. [7]
The 1953 armistice prohibits hostile acts within, from or against the DMZ. Lee has called for a thorough investigation with United Nations Command and said any necessary measures would follow its findings. [2] [8]
Kim Yo-jong, a senior Workers’ Party official and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, again rejected Seoul’s account of the 21 September explosions in comments reported by North Korean state agency KCNA on Friday. She said Pyongyang had not deliberately laid mines in the border zone and dismissed South Korea’s demand for an apology. She had issued an earlier denial on 29 September.
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South Korea’s military says its preliminary findings make it highly likely that North Korean mines caused the two explosions, which injured three soldiers: two seriously and one lightly. The UN Command has found an armistice violation involving a North Korean mine discovered separately on the South Korean side of the demarcation line. Its finding did not settle responsibility for the explosions, which remained under investigation. [1] [13] [14]