The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday rejected South Korean findings that North Korea likely planted the land mines that injured three South Korean soldiers last week, describing Seoul’s claims as a “conspiratorial farce.“Also Read: North Korean mines likely behind blasts that injured 3 South Korean personnel, Seoul saysKim Yo Jong, a top foreign policy official for Kim Jong Un and possibly the second-most powerful figure in Pyongyang, accused South Korea of making “groundless claims” to create a pretext for “military provocation” against her country.“When a single bullet is hit on our land, they must be prepared for a lot. If the military gangsters fire at our soldiers carrying on the permanent project for the southern border, not warning shots, our border units will take immediate and merciless retaliatory action,” the Associated Press quoted Kim Yo Jong as saying. She was referring to the South Korean military as “gangsters.”Kim Yo Jong’s statement came after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Monday announced a preliminary assessment that the blasts were caused by North Korean mines, following a joint inspection of the site with the US-led United Nations Command.The South Korean military officers were injured in two explosions on September 21 near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified buffer separating North and South Korea.The blasts occurred about 10 metres south of the demarcation line as South Korean troops were clearing a patrol route through a densely vegetated area that had rarely been accessed for decades. The route was being prepared for future inspections with the UN Command after South Korea detected possible terrain changes that could have resulted from North Korean mine-laying.Tensions along the border have increased as North Korea has expanded its frontline fortifications, including mines and anti-tank barriers, and increased the presence of troops near the DMZ. The 248-kilometre-long, four-kilometre-wide zone is among the world’s most heavily fortified borders, with an estimated 2 million land mines buried in and around the area, alongside barbed-wire fences, tank traps and combat forces.The latest incident comes a decade after South Korea blamed North Korea for land mine explosions in August 2015 that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers. The incident triggered a sharp rise in tensions, including military threats, weapons demonstrations and renewed propaganda broadcasts, before negotiations helped ease the crisis. North Korea expressed regret over the injuries but did not clearly acknowledge responsibility.Relations have deteriorated further since early 2024, with North Korea describing South Korea as a permanent enemy and abandoning its previous concept of shared statehood in favour of a hostile two-state relationship. Pyongyang has also rejected US calls to resume diplomacy, saying Washington must first abandon its demand for North Korean denuclearisation as a condition for talks.
