North Korea accuses Seoul of faking landmine blast as howitzer appears at border

Pyongyang's letter to the Security Council

North Korea sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council on Sunday, 25 October, accusing South Korea of fabricating a landmine explosion on 21 September in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The letter, reported by the state news agency KCNA, says Seoul used the blast to present Pyongyang's border construction as a military incursion. It warns that violations of North Korean sovereignty could trigger self-defence measures and that South Korea would be "wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences". North Korea also accuses the South Korean military of firing shots at North Korean soldiers, which it calls a breach of the UN Charter.

South Korea says the blast was caused by mines laid by North Korean troops south of the Military Demarcation Line, and its foreign ministry sent a letter to the Security Council earlier in October calling it a "clear violation of the armistice agreement". Three South Korean soldiers were injured, according to Seoul and most reports, although Mediafax gives the number as two. The UN Command has said a North Korean mine across the line violated the armistice, and Pyongyang denies responsibility.

Artillery and armour in view

On Monday, 26 October, a Reuters witness at an observatory in Gimpo, South Korea, watched three North Korean armoured vehicles with their gun barrels pointed south. The same observers counted about 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers doing fencing work inside the DMZ. Yonhap identified the weapon near the coast at Gaepung as a self-propelled 122mm howitzer, a rare public display of such artillery.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said the display was unusual.

“It is highly unusual (for North Korea) to expose its self-propelled artillery so conspicuously.”

He added that the display was a warning to the South to be cautious about escalating border friction, a signal that Pyongyang intends to enforce its border policy by force. The South Korean Unification Ministry said the North's letter appears to repeat its existing position and seeks to justify its border marking work.

Loudspeakers, troops and talks

On Tuesday, 20 October, South Korea expressed concern over Pyongyang's announcement that it was considering restarting loudspeaker broadcasts along the border. Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, told state media that the country was weighing the deployment of "additional tactical weapons" near the border, without giving details. She also said new troop units had been moved into "firing position" along the frontier.

Seoul responded by proposing military talks with North Korea to "mutually confirm the precise location" of the border and to discuss restoring communication channels. Reuters reports that North Korean troops have for years built tactical roads and fences and laid mines near the military demarcation line. South Korea says it fires warning shots and broadcasts messages to make North Korean soldiers return north when they cross that line.