
Consoling injured soldiers at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital... “I will support a true hero until the end.”
Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol visited a front-line unit on the Western Front where a suspected mine explosion occurred during a search operation in the DMZ, inspected military preparedness and encouraged soldiers.
AI-generated summary
Recently, a suspected mine explosion occurred during a search operation in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and Korean soldiers were injured.
“Maintaining operational discipline without wavering is what a comrade in a hospital bed hopes for.”
Consoling injured soldiers at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital... “I will support a true hero until the end.”
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Cheol-seon = On the 23rd, Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol visited the front-line troops on the Western Front, where a suspected mine explosion occurred during a recent search operation in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and inspected military preparedness.
Minister Kang visited the Army's 25th Infantry Division located on the Western Front as his first official on-site guidance since taking office. He visited a unit where injuries occurred during a search operation on the 21st and comforted and encouraged the soldiers.
Minister Kang said, “Completing the mission while maintaining operational discipline without hesitation is what our people and our comrades in hospital hope for,” and urged them not to be intimidated but to focus on their mission.
He then promised, “The state will take full responsibility and look after our comrades and their families so that they can focus solely on treatment and recovery.”
After receiving a report on the frontline operational situation at the observatory, Minister Kang visited the GOP battalion command and control room to inspect preparedness and requested the establishment of solid operational discipline to enable immediate response in any situation.
In particular, he emphasized to the soldiers working on the front lines, "If the enemy provokes or invades, do not hesitate to respond resolutely," and "Your resolute response is my order."
Prior to this, Minister Kang visited the Armed Forces Trauma Center this morning to comfort injured soldiers.
In a meeting with injured soldiers and their guardians, he said, "You are the true heroes who were injured to save your comrades during the operation," and promised, "I will take full responsibility for treatment and support until the end."
The Ministry of National Defense reported that the search battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel), who is currently recovering from surgery for serious injuries, in a meeting with the minister that day, asked first about the safety of other comrades who were deployed in the operation together at the time, even though he was in the most difficult situation.
At around 10:50 a.m. on the 21st, two suspected mine explosions occurred in the area adjacent to the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, under the jurisdiction of the 25th Division of the Army, and two people, including the commander of a South Korean military search battalion, were seriously injured and one person was slightly injured.

Two consecutive explosions occurred in a suspected landmine blast that critically injured two South Korean soldiers inside the demilitarized zone, with forensic analysis under way into collected mine fragments.

The explosion, presumed to be a landmine, occurred during an operation to open a search route in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the 21st, and occurred tens of meters away from an area suspected of North Korean military landmine placement. The military is investigating whether there are North Korean landmines through a National Forensic Service analysis and a joint investigation by the United Nations Command.

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul visited two Army soldiers injured in a suspected land mine explosion inside the inter-Korean border, praising them as 'true heroes' and vowing a thorough investigation into the blast that occurred while they were clearing a path for a U.N. Command inspection.

Bill Greenwalt, a senior researcher at AEI who served as the U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, emphasized the need to improve U.S. IP and export control regulations for cooperation in the ROK-U.S. shipbuilding industry, and suggested that Korean companies should cooperate with high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and develop new technologies that are superior to those in the United States.

An aircraft presumed to be a North Korean aircraft was detected in the sky near Baengnyeong Island in Incheon, and 50 fishing boats and 29 leisure boats were forced to take refuge. Following notification from military authorities, the Coast Guard sent an evacuation text message, and the situation was lifted approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes later.

The Ministry of National Defense announced at the Cabinet meeting on the 22nd that it had approved an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Military Bases and Military Facilities Protection Act to change the purpose of the search airfield in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do from the existing 'support aviation operation base' to 'helicopter operation base'. Accordingly, 19.8 ㎢, or 93% of the 21.3 ㎢ area of the flight safety zone, will be released, and only 1.5 ㎢ will be adjusted to a helicopter-only operation base. The Ministry of National Defense explained that this is expected to improve conditions for local residents to exercise their property rights and help promote regional development and urban maintenance projects.