“Difficult to detect and identify due to plastic material
“Possibility of river spraying, risk of flooding during heavy rain”
It has been discovered that North Korea has additionally planted at least tens of thousands of landmines, including ‘leaf mines’ that are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The military is preparing for the possibility that North Korea may intentionally spread landmines in rivers shared between the South and the North, using the anti-North leaflets sent by defector groups as an excuse.
According to the military on the 17th, North Korea has been working on planting landmines, creating wastelands, and installing barriers in the DMZ for months despite the heat wave and monsoon season. A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, “At least tens of thousands of additional landmines have been planted indiscriminately in the DMZ, and the work is still ongoing,” adding, “In addition to wooden box mines, there have also been signs that ‘leaf mines’ have been planted in some areas.”
In particular, the smartphone-sized leaf mines have excellent camouflage effects due to their brown and green color and the appearance of leaves. They are also difficult to detect and identify because they are made of plastic. They contain about 40 g of explosives, which is somewhere between the North Korean military’s wooden box mines (explosives about 70 g) and our military’s anti-personnel mines (explosives about 20 g).
The military explained that the North Korean military’s wasteland work along the entire 250km DMZ is about 10% complete, and the barrier installation is about 1% complete. The North Korean military is working 12-13 hours a day, without holidays or shifts, in temporary tents and other poor accommodations, and it is said that some places were working on the anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s death (the 8th). A military official said, “Despite the many casualties from more than 10 landmine explosions and thermal injuries, the work is being carried out recklessly, and in some areas, female soldiers have been mobilized.” The military believes that the minelaying and wasteland creation work is largely aimed at preventing defections by North Korean citizens and soldiers.
A Ministry of National Defense official said in a briefing that day, “One of the ‘new response methods’ recently mentioned by North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong is the possibility of a provocation that involves deliberately scattering landmines in rivers shared between the South and the North, such as the Hwanggang Dam.”
Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, threatened on the previous day (16th) that anti-North Korean leaflets had been discovered again in North Korea, saying, “If these petty and dirty acts continue, we will inevitably have to change our response method.” She also claimed, “We must be prepared for a terrible and shocking price.” If North Korea engages in such provocations, it could pose a great threat to soldiers and residents in the contact area, so the military is closely monitoring related trends.
On this day, the military held an emergency commanders’ meeting presided over by Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik to discuss the types of provocations expected by North Korea and the readiness to respond in the event of an emergency. Minister Shin said, “We are facing a complex crisis situation where we must prepare for both North Korea’s provocation threats and unpredictable natural disasters,” and instructed that a readiness posture be established.
Military expert reporter Yoon Sang-ho ysh1005@donga.com
Reporter Son Hyo-joo hjson@donga.com
Source: www.donga.com
