Seoul:Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul announced that "appropriate, substantial and corresponding" measures would be adopted if the explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is confirmed to have been caused by land mines planted by North Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kang addressed reporters following a meeting with Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), at the National Assembly. The minister was questioned about the government's response should it be definitively established that North Korean land mines were responsible for the explosion, which severely injured two South Korean soldiers south of the Military Demarcation Line inside the DMZ last Monday.
The incident involved two blasts, and there is suspicion that North Korean land mines were the cause. Kang was asked about reports suggesting soldiers had seen a North Korean wooden-box land mine near the explosion site. He noted that there are statements both supporting and contradicting the presence of such a device, emphasizing the difficulty in identifying the exact nature of the device. An on-site investigation is underway, and he promised transparency with the public once details are clarified.
In response to opposition claims that the government is downplaying or covering up the incident, Kang assured that there was no intention to conceal information and stated that the military would handle the situation transparently. He emphasized that there was no intentional delay or cover-up.
Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) communicated to reporters that the parliamentary national defense committee agreed to convene a plenary session to question officials about the blast. The DP and PPP have disagreed on the approach to the incident, with the DP advocating for a joint inspection of the site and the PPP urging for a defense committee hearing. Earlier, DP committee members visited the DMZ without their PPP counterparts. Rep. Lim Jong-deuk, senior PPP member of the committee, confirmed his party's acceptance of the DP's proposal for a hearing.