N. Korean anti-personnel mine found 1 meter from second DMZ blast site, military says

A North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine has been found roughly 1 meter from the site of a second explosion in the demilitarized zone, where South Korean soldiers were injured in a mine blast during a trail-clearing operation, the military said Tuesday.

Yang Jin-hyeok, operations chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an emergency session of the National Assembly Defense Committee that an unidentified object was spotted around 10 a.m. Tuesday near the trail-clearing site. "One North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine was identified approximately 1 meter behind the crater formed by the second explosion," he said.

The field investigation ran from 8:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., with 37 personnel taking part. South Korea contributed 31 members, including the deputy commander of the Army's 25th Infantry Division, while the United States sent six, including the secretary of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission. The joint US-South Korea on-site inspection ran from 10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.

The Joint Chiefs also released four photographs of the identified mine. "In photos two and four, the surface is covered in soil, but a brownish color and a rectangular shape are visible," Yang said.

After the inspection, South Korea's task force, the UN Command secretary and the investigation team held an on-site discussion. Yang said a final conclusion had not yet been reached.

The accident occurred the morning of Sept. 21 in the western DMZ south of the MDL, in an area under the jurisdiction of the Army's 25th Infantry Division in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Soldiers were conducting an operation to open a new trail inside the DMZ at the time.

Three officers were injured in the blast. The search battalion commander, a lieutenant colonel, suffered a severe injury resulting in the amputation of his ankle and was airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital. The military said the accident happened while troops were cutting a new trail to support the UN Command's field investigation.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul attended the Defense Committee session Tuesday for the first time since taking office.

In his opening remarks, Kang extended his condolences to the injured soldiers. "The state will take full and lasting responsibility for the heroes who were wounded in the line of duty, ensuring they can focus on their treatment and recovery," he said.