South Korean Military Blames North Korean Mines for DMZ Blast as Ministers Split Over Response

The mines were planted about 10 meters south of the MDL, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported, calling the act a violation of the armistice and a military provocation. The National Forensic Service found that fragments recovered from the injured soldiers matched North Korean mines previously retrieved from the Imjin River, the paper said. The Korea Herald reported that the JCS investigation concluded the mines were planted more than 12 months ago, while the Donga Ilbo said additional mines were found. Three soldiers were seriously or moderately injured.

The JCS said that unless North Korea voluntarily removes the mines, South Korean forces will continue mine-clearing operations south of the MDL.

North Korea has rejected the finding. Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un and director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, mocked the investigation as a "self-staged farce," and the North launched missiles on Saturday, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.

President Lee Jae Myung's public framing of the incident has drawn criticism from the same paper. In a speech marking the anniversary of the Oct. 4 Declaration two days earlier, Lee said South Korea must "break the vicious cycle of hostility and confrontation" to create a virtuous cycle of peace and prosperity, and in his Thursday Armed Forces Day address he called the mine blast an "unfortunate accident" without mentioning North Korea. The Korea JoongAng Daily editorial argued that dialogue and de-escalation require credible deterrence, and that the government must hold Pyongyang accountable and demand an apology.

Divisions inside the government surfaced at a National Security Council meeting convened Thursday to discuss the mine incident. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young reportedly clashed heatedly when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed unilateral sanctions over North Korea's illegal cyber activities; Chung objected strongly, calling them unrelated to the mine incident, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

Other items led the Oct. 6 papers. The Chosun Ilbo reported that the United States is holding up visas for National Intelligence Service officials due to be posted in Washington. The Korea Times led with a report that artificial intelligence attacks have exposed cybersecurity lags in the financial sector. The Korea Economic Daily put stablecoin payments at an estimated 540 trillion won, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported that environmental reviews are hindering housing development on former military land, and the Kyunghyang Shinmun focused on young Koreans struggling "in age of anxiety."

In a separate editorial, the Korea Times criticized Lee's "increasingly confrontational response to Ukraine" over the public disclosure of North Korean prisoners of war. The paper said Ukraine was under no international legal obligation to repatriate the prisoners but facilitated the transfer of those who wanted to come to the South, and argued that Seoul has an interest in preserving Kyiv's cooperation, noting that South Korea pledged $100 million in assistance to Ukraine after Lee's July summit with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said he hopes the matter will be resolved soon.