South Korea demands apology at UN over DMZ mine blast; North Korea rejects claim

South Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Cha Ji-hoon (차지훈), said on October 8 (local time) that a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on September 21 was a clear violation of the armistice agreement, and called on North Korea to apologise and take responsible measures. He was speaking in the general debate of the First Committee (disarmament and international security) of the 81st UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]

Cha said the explosion injured three soldiers and that a joint investigation by the South Korean military and the UN Command, backed by forensic analysis, confirmed it was caused by a mine North Korean troops deliberately laid south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). He urged the North to stop such acts of escalation and to engage in dialogue to restore trust on the Korean Peninsula. Newsis reported it was the first time the government had publicly raised North Korea's responsibility for the blast at an official UN meeting. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]

Using its right of reply, a North Korean representative called the so-called 'mine explosion incident' an 'impure, obstructive act' meant to brand the fortification of its southern border area, which he called a legitimate exercise of sovereignty, as military aggression. According to Yonhap and SBS, he called it a 'poor trick' by South Korea's military to shift responsibility onto the North and said Pyongyang would exercise its sovereignty more resolutely. He also named Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (정동영), saying a South Korean official had indicated the blast was hard to judge a deliberate attack. Yonhap and SBS reported that Chung had told a parliamentary audit the previous day that the blast could 'not yet be specified as an attack'. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]

Yonhap reported further exchanges. Counsellor An Ji-in (안지인) of South Korea's UN mission said the joint investigation clearly proved a mine deliberately laid by the North caused the blast. The North Korean side then called South Korea a hostile state and said it would defend its territorial sovereignty 'through a thorough exercise of force, not negotiation'. Yonhap also reported that Kim Yo Jong, director of the Workers' Party General Affairs Department, mocked the blast as a 'self-staged farce' in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency the same day. [ 2 ]

Cha also said North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes were a serious threat to the global non-proliferation regime and that North Korea–Russia military cooperation, which he said violated multiple Security Council resolutions, must stop. According to Yonhap, the North Korean representative rejected criticism from France, Canada and Denmark, repeating that nuclear weapons were an unavoidable choice against US nuclear threats. [ 1 , 2 ]

Seoul Shinmun reported that Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (조현) told a parliamentary audit on October 6 that options under review included a Security Council resolution, a presidential statement and sending letters. The paper said the government is expected to consider a formal letter to the Security Council president, as it did after a 2015 wooden-box mine incident. [ 5 ]