Seoul seeks to formalize North Korea’s armistice violations

SEOUL, South Korea (MNTV) — South Korea is seeking to formally declare North Korea’s recent activities along their heavily fortified border as violations of the Armistice Agreement, local media reported Wednesday.

The move follows a joint investigation with the UN Command (UNC) into North Korean activities around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), according to Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, citing the South Korean Defense Ministry.

Seoul concluded that land mines deliberately planted by North Korea on the South Korean side of the MDL caused a Sept. 21 explosion that wounded three South Korean soldiers, two seriously.

“Following a joint investigation with the UNC into North Korea’s MDL incursions, we plan to formalize its armistice violations,” the ministry said in a document submitted to lawmakers.

Seoul also plans to seek inter-Korean military talks aimed at preventing accidental clashes, reopening communication hotlines and addressing discrepancies over the location of the MDL.

The border dispute intensified after last month’s explosion, with Seoul accusing Pyongyang of deliberately planting two mines inside the Demilitarized Zone.

North Korea on Tuesday rejected the accusation, calling it “blame shifting” and accusing Seoul of attempting to portray its fortification of the border as a “military invasion.”

Pyongyang said, as the country’s state owned news agency KCNA reported, the incident was an attempt by South Korea to shift responsibility for “its own accident,” after Seoul demanded an apology and the removal of mines it said violated the armistice agreement.