The installation of land mines by North Korea in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the north and south of the peninsula is continuing despite multiple casualties on the North Korean side, South Korea’s Defense Ministry has said.
According to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the North’s recent activities are likely designed to strengthen control within its own borders—essentially by stopping North Korean soldiers and citizens from escaping the North’s communist regime into democratic South Korea.
“The Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed that North Korea’s recent DMZ activities are likely a measure to strengthen internal control, such as the interdiction of North Korean soldiers and residents crossing or defecting to the South,” according to a press release from the Ministry.
Furthermore, the South Korean JCS said that continued analysis will be required to determine whether the North’s activities are also intended to make the military demarcation line (MDL) a border line.
“The North Korean military appears to be pressing ahead with the work despite many casualties due to several explosions while clearing vegetation and planting land mines along the MDL,” an official for the JCS told journalists on June 18.
For the past several months, North Korea has intensified its efforts along the DMZ, including work carried out to clear vegetation, the placing of land mines, and the reinforcement of roads at multiple locations in the zone, the Ministry said.
In addition, North Korea has also deployed large numbers of troops in order to boost its surveillance capabilities.
North Korea announced in November last year that all military measures suspended under the Inter-Korean Military Agreement two months previously were to be restored. These included the reinstallation of military outposts, which the country completed at the start of this year.
The North also placed land mines in the area between the two Koreas, including along the Donghae Line and near Arrowhead Hill.
North Korea’s regime leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the removal of multiple structures linking the two countries, including the recent removal of street lights and railway tracks along the Donghae railway line, the Ministry said.
“Most of the work is done by people, and an excavator is used near the rivers. Overall, human labor is used in all cases,” the official said.
The JCS official further stated that in comparison to the North’s efforts to place new land mines and conduct other installation work each year, the scale of the current work and the amount of troops involved in the operation have increased considerably.
This year, the official added, the North has expanded on its structures by installing anti-tank barriers.
Of particular concern, however, are the walls being built by the North Korean troops in some areas of the DMZ which, according to the JCS, serves not as a border wall but as an anti-tank barrier, with heights of up to 15 feet and stretching up to several hundred feet in length.
“Overall, it is a measure to counter our reactions in case of war.” According to the official, North Korea’s efforts in the DMZ are expected to continue and even expand, depending on weather conditions, troops, and material supplies.
He stated that the South Korean military will maintain a firm posture of readiness while closely monitoring the activities of the North Korean soldiers.
Last month, around 30 North Korean soldiers who were carrying out construction work in the DMZ crossed the military demarcation line, resulting in warning shots being fired by South Korean troops. The crossing was brief, however, and is believed to have been unintentional.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
