JCS Vice Chairman Kwon says accountability "rests entirely with North Korea" if the final investigation confirms North Korean forces laid the mines
Kwon Dae-wonVice chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of National Defense
At a September 28, 2026 briefing on the preliminary results of the joint investigation with the UN Command, Lt. Gen. Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military assessed that North Korean mines were highly likely the cause of the two explosions. He said that if the final investigation confirms North Korean forces laid the mines, it constitutes "a clear attack" on soldiers lawfully performing operations south of the MDL, and that accountability "rests entirely with North Korea."
Responding to
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on September 28, 2026 that North Korean land mines were highly likely the cause of the two explosions that wounded three South Korean soldiers south of the Military Demarcation Line on September 21, and said on September 30 that South Korean soldiers were seriously injured by North Korean landmines while conducting search operations south of that line.
“If the final investigation confirms that this was inflicted by land mines laid by North Korean forces, it constitutes a clear attack in which our soldiers, who were lawfully performing DMZ operations south of the MDL, were injured by North Korean mines and consequently, accountability rests entirely with North Korea”
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Where this statement fits
Did North Korea plant the antipersonnel mines that injured three South Korean soldiers in the DMZ on September 21, 2026?
On September 21, 2026, two explosions in the western Demilitarized Zone wounded three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously, as they cleared a route for a planned UN Command inspection. South Korea's military places the blasts about 10 meters south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on September 28 that North Korean mines were highly likely the cause, and on September 30 it demanded an apology from North Korea. Also on September 30, the UN Command said its joint investigation with South Korea's military identified an active North Korean anti-personnel mine on the South Korean side of the MDL and determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred. The command did not say which side committed the violation. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official, rejected the South Korean findings as groundless and said North Korean soldiers have never crossed the border. The joint investigation had not issued final results as of September 30, 2026. The disputed claim is whether North Korean forces planted the mines that exploded.
Source and context
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About this source
Korea Herald's copy of a Yonhap report on the September 28, 2026 briefing by Lt. Gen. Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the preliminary results of the joint investigation with the UN Command. The English quotations are Yonhap's rendering of Kwon's Korean remarks.
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About this source
Korea Herald report of the September 28, 2026 Joint Chiefs briefing, with the evidence the Joint Chiefs cited, the distance from the Military Demarcation Line and the number of personnel involved. Its English quotations of Kwon Dae-won differ in wording from Yonhap's.
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About this source
Korea Times report of the September 28, 2026 briefing, including remarks by Maj. Gen. Yang Jin-hyuk on why the Joint Chiefs concluded the exploded mines were not South Korean and on the object soldiers described.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The briefing followed a joint on-site investigation with the UN Command's Military Armistice Commission that began on September 27. Kwon leads the Joint Chiefs' investigation task force. Earlier that day Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul had said the type of mine could not be stated with certainty. The English wording is Yonhap's rendering of Kwon's Korean remarks; other outlets render the same briefing differently.
After the quotation
The Joint Chiefs said the investigation had not determined whether the mines were deliberately planted or had been displaced from elsewhere, and that final findings would come after an assessment with the UN Command. Asked to comment on the preliminary results, the UN Command said it had no further comment while the incident remained under investigation. A joint inspection found another mine that the Joint Chiefs and the UN Command identified as North Korean the next day.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether North Korean forces planted the mines. Kwon said the evidence made North Korean mines highly likely the cause, but he tied North Korea's accountability to the final investigation confirming that North Korean forces laid them. Because the attribution depends on an express, unresolved condition, we labeled it Mixed or conditional rather than Condemned.
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More from this case
Read the full caseDemocratic Party leader Kim Min-seok says the DMZ explosion "has been revealed to be caused by North Korea planting landmines" south of the MDL
“The DMZ explosion has been revealed to be caused by North Korea planting landmines south of the Military Demarcation Line.”Read statement
Kim Yo Jong says North Korean soldiers "have never crossed the border" and that the crossing claim is meant to shift responsibility
“The "crossing the border" of our soldiers touted by the ROK military is a deliberate and planned strained assertion to shift the responsibility for escalating tension on to the DPRK. Clearly speaking, our soldiers have never crossed the border. This is a clear cavil and a provocation. The ROK military should think first of all about what the world will say about its inability to distinguish its own land and other's land, failing to properly distinguish the boundary which can be confirmed by the naked eye.”Read statement
Kim Yo Jong says the mine incident is "a clear farce" and South Korea is "cooking up the groundless results"
“In conclusion, the incident is a clear farce reminiscent of the "wooden-box mine incident" which disturbed the world more than ten years ago, in consideration of the time and method of provocation. At that time the puppet forces forcibly linked the "mine explosion incident" that occurred on the western border with the DPRK and continuously escalated the tension under the pretext of it. What should not be overlooked is the fact that the armed gangsters of the ROK are now cooking up the groundless results and "justifying their conduct" for political and military provocation against the DPRK, openly talking about "reasonable and corresponding enforcement of measures". How can we sit and watch their despicable act of rashly doubting anyone after exploding a mine of doubtful provenance and talking about the breach of the Armistice Agreement.”Read statement