Actor from 'Recruit Season 4' speaks out on DMZ mine blast: 'Soldiers deserve respect'

Actor Jang Seong-beom, known for his role in the ENA drama series "Recruit Season 4," has spoken out about the recent mine explosion in the western front demilitarized zone.

Jang wrote on Instagram on Tuesday that he had seen news reports about South Korean soldiers sustaining serious injuries during an operation in the frontline DMZ. "I also heard that, fortunately, none of their lives are in danger," he said.

He then said he noticed many people around him were unaware the incident had even occurred. "The point of this letter is this: we need to pay attention to how our actual soldiers — our military — are serving," he wrote.

"The first thing that came to mind when I read the article was: what must the people who love those soldiers be feeling?" Jang said. "Military service is not something to be taken for granted, and it is absolutely not something dishonorable."

He added, "It is my belief that respect and trust are to soldiers what a sense of purpose is to their service. Soldiers deserve respect."

"I thought about what I could do, and I decided the least I could do was let as many people know as possible," Jang wrote. "It may amount to nothing, but I hope that through me, many people will become aware of this incident."

Meanwhile, the explosion that injured South Korean troops in the DMZ on Sept. 21 is increasingly believed to have been caused by mines planted by North Korean forces.

A North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine newly discovered during the on-site investigation by the military and the United Nations Command has been cited as a key piece of evidence pointing to the possibility of a planted mine.

The mine is the fourth found at the scene — following the two that exploded and a North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine that soldiers participating in the operation said they had seen. It was found about one meter behind the site of the second explosion.

Photos released by the Joint Chiefs of Staff show the mine buried in the ground. At a National Assembly defense committee session, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul confirmed it was buried when People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won asked whether it appeared to have been planted underground.