Seoul says North Korean mines 'highly suspected' as cause of DMZ blast

A blast that injured three South Korean military officers inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) last week was likely caused by North Korean landmines, Seoul's military said on Monday.



The DMZ is a 248km long and roughly 4km wide buffer zone that has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice.



While the zone itself is officially demilitarised, its northern and southern boundaries are among the world's most heavily fortified frontiers and remain littered with landmines.



The preliminary findings of a joint probe with the United Nations Command into the Sep 21 explosion suggested that "recently planted mines" were involved, Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a live briefing.



"The mines exploded at a location about 10m south of the Military Demarcation Line, and we have confirmed that the site was about 10m from an area where changes in the terrain were observed and where North Korean forces are believed to have recently planted mines," he said.