North Korea Has Planted an Estimated 960,000 Border Mines Since 2024, Lawmakers Say
South Korean military assessments shared with lawmakers estimate that North Korea has laid about 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024 as part of a wider fortification campaign.
North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed by the military, underscoring the scale of Pyongyang’s effort to harden one of the world’s most heavily fortified frontiers.
Lawmakers serving on the National Assembly’s intelligence and defense committees said the South Korean military had reported the estimate to parliament. The figure covers mines believed to have been installed as North Korea expanded construction and security work near the Military Demarcation Line, which runs through the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
The activity has intensified since April 2024. It followed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s declaration in late 2023 that relations with South Korea should be treated as those between two hostile states rather than partners pursuing reunification. South Korea’s military has observed North Korean personnel laying mines, installing barbed-wire fences and building anti-tank barriers near the border.
Those operations have also created repeated points of friction. North Korean troops have approached or crossed the demarcation line on multiple occasions, prompting South Korean forces to issue warning broadcasts or fire warning shots under their operational procedures. The extensive construction activity increases the risk that local movements or accidents could trigger a military response in an area where communication remains limited.
Border tensions rose further after a land-mine explosion on Sept. 21 injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul concluded that North Korean antipersonnel mines caused the blast. Pyongyang rejected that finding, accused South Korea of fabricating its investigation and threatened to resume anti-Seoul loudspeaker broadcasts while deploying tactical weapons near the frontier.
The latest estimate places North Korea’s recent mine-laying campaign within the broader militarization of the DMZ. Military experts have estimated that more than 2 million mines may already be present throughout the zone when devices laid by both Koreas are included. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young cited a similar overall figure during a parliamentary audit earlier this month.
The parliamentary disclosure does not by itself establish the precise location or condition of each newly estimated mine. It nevertheless indicates that Seoul views the North’s border work as a large, sustained operation rather than a series of isolated installations. The combination of dense minefields, continuing fortification and competing accusations over the September blast leaves the border vulnerable to further escalation even without a deliberate attack.