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The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rejected on Wednesday South Korean findings that the North planted land mines that injured three South Korean soldiers last week and threatened to retaliate if the South fires on North Korean troops fortifying the border.
The incident could further inflame tensions between the two Koreas, which have no working military hotlines or other emergency communications channels as Pyongyang hardens its stance towards Seoul while expanding its military nuclear programme.
Three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions on 21 September near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified border buffer zone between the two sides.
The statement by Kim Yo-jong came after South Korea’s military announced a preliminary assessment on Monday that the blasts were caused by North Korean mines following a joint inspection of the site with the US-led United Nations Command.
Kim calls Seoul’s claims a ‘farce’
Kim Yo-jong, who is considered the second most powerful figure in Pyongyang, called the South Korean assessment a “conspiratorial farce,” accusing Seoul of making groundless claims to create a pretext for provocation against the North.
North Korea in recent years has added mines, anti-tank barriers and other front-line fortifications, raising concerns in the South about the growing presence of North Korean soldiers near the border.
Kim criticised the South for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops conducting front-line fortification work, insisting “our soldiers have never crossed the border.”
“If the (South Korean) military gangsters fire at our soldiers carrying on the permanent project for the southern border, not warning shots, our border units will take immediate and merciless retaliatory action,” she said.
The recent explosions, which took place about 10 metres south of the military demarcation line, came during an operation to establish a patrol route through a densely vegetated area.
The route was intended to allow future inspections with the UN Command after South Korea since last year detected “terrain changes” that may have resulted from North Korean minelaying.
The DMZ is a 248-kilometre strip and one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders, with an estimated 2 million land mines, barbed-wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.
In August 2015, another spate of land mine blasts that maimed two South Korean soldiers and sharply raised tensions between the Koreas.
The Koreas then traded threats, staged weapons demonstrations and resumed border propaganda broadcasts before days of marathon talks eventually pulled them back from the brink.
North Korea issued a vague expression of regret over the soldiers’ injuries at the time but has never clearly accepted responsibility.
UN Command says North Korea violated armistice agreement
The UN Command said on Wednesday that North Korea had violated the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The agreement prohibits both sides from committing any hostile act “within, from, or against” the DMZ and bans military or civilian personnel from crossing the military demarcation line without authorisation from the armistice commission.
The UN Command said it was addressing the violation through established mechanisms but didn’t elaborate.
Kang Hyunwoo, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff’s director of operations, said the military “strongly urges” North Korea to apologise for the blasts and take “responsible measures” to prevent a recurrence.
South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said the South would consider unspecified “corresponding measures” if a complete investigation confirms the North was responsible.
Additional sources • AP