Military knew of suspected NK mine-laying a year before DMZ blast

The Korea Times - Oct 7, 2026

South Korea’s military identified suspected North Korean mine-laying activity south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and reported it to senior defense officials a year before an explosion injured three soldiers, documents released during a parliamentary audit showed Wednesday. According to documents the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) submitted to Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party, satellite imagery collected on Sept. 23, 2025, showed suspected mine-laying south of the MDL in the Army’s 25th Division sector. The initial analysis described the area as a “suspected mine-laying section.” The assessment was reported in person to then-JCS Chairman Jin Young-seung the following day. Then-Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, who was overseas, received a text message on a secure phone and was briefed again after returning. The reports also warned of possible further MDL incursions. Three soldiers were injured on Sept. 21 while clearing a new search route for a United Nations Command (UNC) field inspection in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Following a joint investiga

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