North Korea laying mines south of MDL at 'several locations,' defense minister says

North Korea's suspected mine-laying south of the Military Demarcation Line and repeated crossings of the boundary came under scrutiny Wednesday at the National Assembly National Defense Committee national audit. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said signs of mine-laying had been detected at "several locations" and pledged to take necessary action after conducting a joint investigation with UN Command.

At the audit held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Kang said "several locations" when asked by People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won whether there were additional areas south of the MDL — beyond the 25th Division's sector — where mine-laying was suspected. When pressed on suggestions that hundreds of mines may have been planted south of the line, Kang said the military would need to "confirm this together with UN Command."

On North Korean soldiers crossing the MDL, Kang said he believed they were "patrolling what they consider their own territory." He added that work personnel from the North were unarmed, while patrol troops carried personal firearms. "When North Korean soldiers come down, we fire, and they go back up — that situation repeats itself every day," he said.

The audit also saw a sharp exchange over responsibility for past inaction and the effectiveness of the current government's response. Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Cheon Jun-ho criticized the previous administration, saying it had never formally designated North Korea's mine-laying as a violation of the Armistice Agreement or demanded a response. "That complacent handling allowed the situation to escalate," he said. Kang said he understood there had been no such designation at the time.

People Power Party lawmaker Im Jong-deuk pushed back against the government's characterization of mine-clearing operations as a "resolute response," saying the measures did not match the scale of North Korea's provocation. Fellow PPP lawmaker Han Ki-ho raised the possibility that North Korea was trying to lure South Korean troops and warned that publicly disclosing mine-removal plans in advance could give Pyongyang time to prepare a counter-response.

Kang also said the military was operating a task force to prepare for discussions with UN Command on establishing a baseline for the MDL.

Meanwhile, at a separate national audit of the Ministry of Unification held the same day at the Inter-Korean Dialogue Headquarters, Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young expressed condolences to South Korean soldiers injured by North Korean mines and said the military must "prepare thoroughly so that such misfortune never happens again." He emphasized peace as the overarching goal, saying "the need for efforts toward fundamental peace has become all the more urgent."

"Peaceful coexistence means living together even when we think differently," Jeong said. "I will push forward without fail on follow-up measures to build on the Korean Peninsula an inclusive peaceful coexistence that respects each other, a stable peaceful coexistence where there is no need to fight, and a responsible peaceful coexistence that contributes to world peace."