▲ A paramedic (in white circle) descends from a medical evacuation helicopter to hoist casualties from a land mine field inside the Demilitarized Zone after explosions occurred there Sept. 21, 2026, in this photo released by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sept. 28. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military has concluded that North Korea had deliberately "planted" the two mines that exploded inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last month, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, adding that a joint operation with the United Nations Command (UNC) on the day has successfully removed additional mines planted near the blast site.

Three South Korean military officers were left injured in the blasts that occurred on Sept. 21.

North Korean mines are often found south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) after they are swept away to south of the inter-Korean border in floods.

The mines involved in the recent blasts contained TNT and thermosetting resin components consistent with North Korean mines, according to the JCS. Fragments recovered from the injured soldiers have also been found to be identical to North Korean plastic antipersonnel mines previously recovered from the Imjin River.

The military said GPS measurements showed that the two blast sites and the site where an additional mine was discovered were all located about 10 meters south of the MDL, apparently suggesting that they had been "planted" there, instead of being swept away to the area.

The military removed the minefield south of the MDL at around 12:51 p.m. Monday and vowed to continue mine-removal operations in the area if North Korea refuses to voluntarily remove its mines planted there.

"The military strongly calls on North Korea to offer a sincere apology to the South Korean soldiers injured in the mine blast and immediately remove the mines it planted in violation of the Armistice Agreement," Lt. Gen. Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of the JCS, said at a press briefing.

The Armistice Agreement, which ended the 1950-53 Korean War, prohibits hostile acts "within, from or against" the DMZ, the buffer zone covering the MDL. It also bans border crossings unless authorized by the Military Armistice Commission.

North Korea has been fortifying the inter-Korean border since April 2024 by reinforcing barbed-wire fences, planting mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the MDL after its leader Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean ties to be those between "two states hostile to each other" the previous year. South Korea suspects that the North has been crossing the border onto the South's side to plant mines.

North Korea has denied responsibility for the recent explosions inside the DMZ.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim, has dismissed Seoul's findings as a fabrication and warned of retaliation if South Korea takes corresponding action.

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