Spokesperson Sin Hyeon-yeong delivers statement via written briefing

Yang Jin-hyeok, operations chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds up a plastic antipersonnel mine recovered in a previous operation during a briefing Monday at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where the joint field investigation task force announced its final findings on the DMZ mine explosion. (Yonhap)
Yang Jin-hyeok, operations chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds up a plastic antipersonnel mine recovered in a previous operation during a briefing Monday at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where the joint field investigation task force announced its final findings on the DMZ mine explosion. (Yonhap)

The Democratic Party of Korea on Monday called North Korea's planting of mines south of the Military Demarcation Line in the Demilitarized Zone a "clear violation of the armistice agreement," following the military's final determination that the DMZ explosion was caused by North Korean mines laid south of the MDL.

Spokesperson Sin Hyeon-yeong said in a written briefing that "the act of laying mines in the DMZ is a provocation that threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and a betrayal of the international community's trust," urging North Korea to "immediately apologize to our injured service members and remove the mines it has planted." Sin added that North Korea must "immediately implement substantive measures to prevent a recurrence."

Turning to the South Korean military, Sin stressed that it must "work closely with the UN Command to uphold the armistice agreement, prevent accidental clashes and continue taking effective measures against North Korean mines laid south of the MDL." Sin added that "the Democratic Party and the government will place the safety of the people and our service members above all else and firmly defend the Republic of Korea's security sovereignty."


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