(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyo-jeong and Kim Cheol-seon = With the military completing the on-site investigation into the mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), attention is being paid to whether the timing of North Korea's planting of the landmine can be identified in more detail in the announcement of the remaining final investigation results.
Analysis came out on the 1st that the key to future investigations will be to substantively reveal when North Korea buried landmines at the accident site, and in particular whether the burial was after the 'border line fortification' work that began in April 2024.
Military authorities believe that the North Korean plastic anti-infantry mines, which were additionally discovered on the 29th of last month at the accident site, were buried before September of last year. September of last year was when our military identified changes in terrain, including mine rows, created by the North Korean military south of the MDL near the accident site.
The military believes that the land mine in question must have been planted long before September of last year, given that there were no traces of mine fever and that bushes had grown at the accident site.
However, it is still necessary to determine whether the landmines were planted after April 2024, when North Korea's border fortification work began, or before that.
At the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly on the 29th of last month, Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol emphasized the connection between this explosion and the border fortification, saying, "It is presumed that the landmine was planted in connection with the border fortification," but did not specify the timing of the land mine placement.
Those inside and outside the military believe that if the landmine that caused the accident was laid after April 2024, North Korea can be held more clearly responsible in connection with the border fortification work.
Scientific verification of the analyzes obtained at the scene, including additional identification results from the National Institute of Forensic Science (National Forensic Service), is considered a powerful way to reveal the time of landmine burial.
The military requested the National Forensic Service to analyze the components of the equipment worn by the injured at the time of the accident, gauze for collecting gunpowder traces, and fragments removed during surgery, and the results of the first analysis of the equipment worn by the injured were released on the 28th of last month. Additional analyte analysis is currently in progress.
It has been reported that the military plans to announce the final investigation results after receiving a reply regarding the additional analysis results for the analytes.
In the case of the field investigation, the military and the UNC have agreed to conduct it for three days from the 27th to the 29th of last month and conclude it.
Meanwhile, there is still a possibility that North Korea's recent landmine planting occurred due to a discrepancy in the military demarcation line (MDL) baseline recognized by North and South Korea.
The MDL is an armistice line established with the signing of the armistice agreement on July 27, 1953. At the time, 1,292 MDL markers were installed, but since repair work was stopped in 1973, many of them were lost, and now only about 200 remain.
For this reason, the MDL recognized by South Korea, North Korea, and the UNC is different.
In this landmine incident, the UNC and the ROK military determine that both the first and second explosion craters and the newly discovered North Korean landmines are south of the MDL, but North Korea denies the MDL violation itself, saying, "Our soldiers have never crossed the border line" (statement by Labor Party Director Kim Yo-jung).
Director Kim also claimed that the South Korean military โcannot distinguish between its own land and other peopleโs land because it cannot properly determine a single boundary line.โ There is a possibility that North Korea will use the fact that there is a discrepancy in the MDL between North and South Korea to completely deny the MDL violations claimed by South Korea in the future.
A fundamental measure could be to organize the MDL baseline through direct consultation between South and North Korea and the United Nations Command, but the likelihood that North Korea will respond is currently low. North Korea is also refusing to respond to military talks to establish the MDL baseline proposed by the South Korean government last year.
Regarding this issue, Minister Kang Shin-cheol said at the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, "With this incident as an opportunity, (South and North Korea) should confirm each other and come to the table. I intend to strongly insist on this."
