North Korean Border Structures Found South of Military Demarcation Line, Lawmaker Says
A South Korean opposition lawmaker says fences and other North Korean structures have been identified south of the Military Demarcation Line in multiple frontline areas, widening concerns after September mine blasts injured three South Korean military personnel.
SEOUL — North Korea appears to have built fences and other structures south of the Military Demarcation Line in more than one frontline area, according to a South Korean lawmaker, expanding concerns about activity around the boundary after mine explosions injured three South Korean military personnel last month.
Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party said newly identified structures were located in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, within the area overseen by the South Korean Army’s 21st Infantry Division. The military demarcation line divides the two Koreas inside the Demilitarized Zone.
Yu said the apparent encroachment was not limited to the sector controlled by the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, where two mine blasts occurred on Sept. 21 near Paju and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province. He said similar installations had been detected across several frontline areas.
According to the lawmaker, the structures in the 21st Division sector were likely installed in August or September. Comparable activity in other locations is believed to have taken place from last autumn through early this year. Yu also raised the possibility that minefields and tactical roads could extend south of the boundary. He based that concern on the usual arrangement of North Korean border facilities, which are commonly positioned in a sequence of minefields, tactical roads and fences when viewed from the South.
The disclosure follows heightened scrutiny of the border after the Sept. 21 explosions, which occurred south of the demarcation line within the DMZ and left three South Korean military personnel seriously injured. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a Sept. 28 briefing that North Korean antipersonnel mines were highly likely to have caused the blasts. The US-led United Nations Command later said investigators had found an active North Korean antipersonnel mine on the South Korean side of the line.
Yu called for stronger preventive measures in the 21st Division area. He pointed to recent remarks by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who identified that area while discussing an increase in North Korean firepower.
The lawmaker also criticized the government’s response to earlier warnings and urged the Lee Jae Myung administration to disclose what authorities have established about possible efforts to weaken or disregard the boundary. He called for the government to explain its follow-up measures and response plans.
The claims add a new area of concern to an already sensitive investigation along the heavily fortified border. They also increase pressure on South Korean authorities to determine the scale, timing and purpose of the structures and to assess whether additional mines or roads cross the demarcation line.