Kang Shin-chul: North Korea 'quite flustered' by South's response; DMZ operations unaffected

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said North Korea was likely "quite flustered" by South Korea's military response to the demilitarized zone explosion — including its investigation findings and mine-clearing operation — after Pyongyang dismissed the South's account as a "fabrication." He also outlined plans to conduct a joint investigation with the United Nations Command into areas south of the Military Demarcation Line where North Korean mines are suspected to have been planted, before taking further action.

Speaking at a national audit by the National Assembly's Defense Committee at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Kang addressed a statement issued by North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. "Previously, their position came out immediately, but this time it took about a day," he said.

He then said the ministry was also paying close attention to the fact that the statement came from the Foreign Ministry rather than other channels, and went on to say the military would "respond resolutely to any security threat without wavering."

North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued the statement on Tuesday afternoon — just one day after the South Korean military concluded that the DMZ explosion had been caused by mines planted by the North south of the MDL and launched a mine-clearing operation. Pyongyang again insisted the South's announcement was a "fabrication" and warned it would "respond forcefully to even 1 millimeter of encroachment on our territory." While past statements on similar matters had come from Kim Yo-jong, director of the Korean Workers' Party's General Affairs Department and sister of leader Kim Jong-un, this time Pyongyang issued a Foreign Ministry statement instead.

Kang also said areas suspected of North Korean mine-planting were not limited to the zone under the 25th Division's jurisdiction, where the explosion occurred.

When People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won suggested that hundreds or more North Korean mines may have been planted south of the MDL, Kang said his ministry shared that assessment in part but added that the matter needed to be confirmed together with the UNC.

Asked whether other suspected mine-planting sites existed, Kang said only that there were "several locations." He said the military planned to conduct a joint investigation with the UNC to establish the facts before proceeding with any necessary measures. He assessed that mine-clearing at the site of the explosion — the target of the current operation — had been completed.

On North Korean troops' repeated crossings of the MDL, Kang said the military was reviewing response measures while recognizing the need for on-site verification. Regarding the 21st Division's area, where crossings have been frequent recently, he said he believed North Korean troops were "patrolling under the judgment that it is their territory."

When Yoo asked whether warning shots alone were proving ineffective, Kang said, "We are naturally thinking about it and considering what measures to take."

However, he noted that North Korean soldiers were crossing in an unarmed state — wearing helmets but not carrying rifles — and said that taking action beyond warning shots was "being judged in accordance with various principles and regulations," a reference to USFKI 5200.08.

Kang said the military was "responding resolutely every day" and indicated that North Korea, the UNC and South Korea needed to verify the alert on the ground together.

He drew a line against concerns that the mine explosion had dampened South Korean military operations in the DMZ. "Initiative is what matters in the DMZ," Kang said, adding that operations had continued without any reduction since the explosion. "The military is working continuously to maintain the initiative," he said.

When Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Cheon Jun-ho asked whether it was true that the government had "given up" on North Korea, Kang said, "That is not true at all."

Meanwhile, Kang said he was "deeply regretful" over remarks made by some members of the national football team — who won gold at the Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games — regarding the military service exemption benefit. On the exemption system itself, he said it was the Defense Ministry's goal to "gradually reduce and ultimately abolish" it.