Seoul Vows Resolute Response After North Korea Threatens New Border Measures; JCS Calls Mine Planting a 'Clear Provocation'
SEOUL — South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff warned on October 20 of a resolute response to further North Korean provocations. JCS Chairman Jin Young-seung, reviewing readiness at a frontline command, said North Korea was responsible for planting landmines south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that seriously wounded South Korean soldiers last month, calling it "a clear provocation" and a violation of the armistice, according to Reuters. He ordered operations to strengthen Seoul's initiative in the Demilitarized Zone.
The warnings followed a statement by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who accused South Korean troops of endangering North Korean personnel fortifying the border with warning broadcasts and warning shots, and said Pyongyang's military was considering reinforcing tactical strike assets along the southern border and resuming loudspeaker broadcasts. She claimed Seoul conducted 2,870 warning broadcasts and opened warning fire on 201 occasions from August 1 to October 17.
South Korea's Defence Ministry expressed serious concern over Kim's statement, describing the broadcasts and shots as lawful defensive measures, and urged Pyongyang to stop crossing the line and respond to proposals to resolve border differences. Jin said Seoul could not tolerate North Korea falsely characterising its legitimate measures as provocations and shifting responsibility for tensions onto the South.
Earlier this month, following a joint investigation with the UN Command, South Korea determined that the mine that exploded in the DMZ on September 21 was a North Korean antipersonnel mine. North Korea has been fortifying the border since April 2024, deploying as many as 7,000 workers this year to install mines and fences, with about 50 crossings of the MDL.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 韩国坡州都罗展望台眺望非军事区。图片：© Dwxn / CC BY-SA 4.0，Wikimedia Commons
- 2026-10-21Seoul Vows Resolute Response After North Korea Threatens New Border Measures; JCS Calls Mine Planting a 'Clear Provocation'This story
- 2026-10-22Kim Yo Jong Says Loudspeakers Against the South to Be on Standby Within Days, New Countermeasures on Combat Duty Along Entire Border
