Opposition lawmaker says North Korean MDL violations extend to 21st Division, with fences built south of border

North Korean troops have laid minefields south of the Military Demarcation Line in multiple front-line areas beyond the 25th Division's Alert zone, a lawmaker claimed Monday. Structures including fences erected by North Korean forces have also been found south of the MDL in the eastern front's 21st Division sector, he said.

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday and said North Korean encroachments south of the MDL were "not limited to the 25th Division but are occurring across multiple front-line areas," particularly in the 21st Division zone, where North Korean-installed fences and other structures have been placed south of the line.

Yoo said the actual scope of the violations could be even wider, based on the typical layout of North Korean installations. Viewed from south to north, North Korean facilities are generally arranged in the order of minefield, tactical road and fence line. If the innermost element — the fence — has already crossed the MDL, he argued, it cannot be ruled out that the minefield and tactical road in front of it have also encroached into the 21st Division sector.

"The 21st Division area is the very place Kim Yo-jong singled out by name in her last statement when she mentioned 'firepower reinforcement,'" Yoo said. "Given that further North Korean provocations are expected, a more principled and resolute response is needed."

Yoo also said the military's own explanations did not add up. On Tuesday, he had questioned the Joint Chiefs of Staff at a National Assembly Defense Committee session about North Korean MDL violations in the 21st Division area. The JCS chairman reportedly replied that the incursions amounted to simple line-crossings rather than minefield construction. Yoo said he had no choice but to raise allegations that "even after the Sept. 21 DMZ mine provocation, the government and military are downplaying and distorting North Korea's provocations."

Yoo had earlier disclosed at a National Assembly plenary interpellation session on Sept. 10 that six locations in the 25th Division's Alert zone — including North Korean-laid minefields — had crossed the MDL by roughly 10 to 15 meters. The government and military responded at the time by saying they had "identified some topographical changes."

Then, on Sept. 21, soldiers from the 25th Division were conducting access-route clearing work to inspect an area suspected of North Korean mine-laying when a mine planted by North Korean troops detonated. Two soldiers were seriously injured and one sustained minor injuries. Yoo said North Korea's attempt to neutralize the MDL, the Lee Jae Myung government's complacent attitude and its delayed response had ultimately brought about the incident.

Yoo demanded the government disclose three things: the number, scope and scale of North Korean minefields, fences and other structures that have crossed south of the MDL across the entire front line; when the violations were first confirmed and what steps were taken in the interim; and the government's plans for holding North Korea accountable and responding to both the MDL neutralization attempt and the Sept. 21 mine provocation.

Yoo also warned North Korea directly. He noted that the UN Command had announced that North Korean mines were found south of the MDL, calling it a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement, yet the Kim Jong-un regime was responding with "brazen, blame-shifting behavior — denigrating the sacrifice of South Korean soldiers with false propaganda and abusive language." He urged North Korea to immediately remove all facilities it has built south of the MDL, including minefields and fences, and to halt its encroachments at once, warning that any further provocation "will be met with commensurate accountability."

"I strongly urge the government to conduct a thorough investigation and respond with firm principle, and demand that North Korea offer an immediate apology and restore the original state of the area," Yoo added.