DMZ Landmine Blast Wounds 18

On the morning of September 21, around 8 a.m., a new route-clearing operation was carried out to conduct an on-site survey with the UN Command of terrain changes suggesting North Korean forces had laid landmines near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

A total of 18 search-operation personnel from the 25th Division were deployed in three teams. As troops were preparing to withdraw after completing the route clearing, a landmine went off. A second explosion followed the first, causing casualties. All 18 personnel were immediately transported to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital.

Immediately after the incident, three emergency helicopters were deployed to transport all the wounded to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital. Of the 18 personnel, 15 have since been discharged and returned to their daily lives.

However, two seriously injured and one lightly injured soldier remain hospitalized. Psychological treatment for post-traumatic stress is being provided alongside care for the discharged servicemembers.

The joint investigation into the cause of the blast confirmed there are no records of friendly forces laying mines in the area. In addition, the first result from the National Forensic Service found brown foreign matter but no metal fragments.

Investigators identified an object at the site presumed to be a North Korean wooden-box landmine, and judged, considering the blast pattern and the severity of the troops' injuries, that it is very likely a North Korean mine.

Today, a joint on-site investigation was conducted with 37 personnel from the 25th Division and the UN Command. The investigators identified an additional unidentified object near the site of the second explosion.

Found around 10 a.m. at the route-clearing point, the object is brown, rectangular, and presumed to be a North Korean wooden-box antipersonnel mine. The investigators are still discussing on site, and no final conclusion has been reached.