S. Korea sends letter to UNSC urging NK to take responsibility for DMZ mine blasts
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A landmine warning sign was installed in the Civilian Control Line area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Western Front in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, Sept. 30. Yonhap
WASHINGTON — South Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) over last month’s land mine explosion incident near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, calling for North Korea to apologize and take responsibility for the incident, according to officials Thursday.
South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Cha Ji-hoon sent the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the Sept. 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the South Korean mission to the U.N.
The letter is said to emphasize that the explosion was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops and constituted a violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
It also called on Pyongyang to take responsible measures and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust.
A South Korean government official said the letter was expected to be circulated among Security Council members following approval by the council president. It is expected to be posted on the UNSC website.
The South Korean military concluded the blasts in the DMZ were caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The explosions injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously.
The letter’s submission comes amid heightened tensions near the inter-Korean border, with North Korea threatening to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea within days, and warned of a “horrible and distressing situation” amid tensions over Pyongyang’s ongoing border fortification work.
During a session of the U.N. General Assembly’s First Committee on Tuesday, North Korea also claimed that South Korean troops had conducted 2,870 warning broadcasts and fired warning shots on 201 occasions between Aug. 1 and Saturday.
