Kim Yo Jong says the mine incident is "a clear farce" and South Korea is "cooking up the groundless results"
Kim Yo JongDepartment director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in a press statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency
In a press statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency on September 30, 2026, Kim Yo Jong said South Korea was announcing investigation results on the mine explosion to justify "political and military provocation against the DPRK." She said the incident is "a clear farce" reminiscent of the 2015 wooden-box mine incident, said the South Korean military was "cooking up the groundless results," and referred to "a mine of doubtful provenance." The statement does not say where the mines came from.
Responding to
Kim Yo Jong said in a press statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency on September 30, 2026 that South Korea's investigation results on the mine explosion are groundless and that South Korea is trying to fabricate evidence, and that North Korean soldiers have never crossed the border.
“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.”
Original text
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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
Original text
About this source
Korean Central News Agency's English text of a press statement that Kim Yo Jong issued on September 29, 2026, dated Pyongyang, September 30. KCNA titles it "Ringleaders of provocation should be prepared for paying price for the farce of their own making." The link is GlobalSecurity.org's copy of the KCNA text. South Korean outlets translate the statement's Korean title and some phrases differently in English, for example "self-staged farce". KCNA's own page for the same English text: http://www.kcna.kp/en/article/detail/d2f0e6206efdd90a0da4c4c8b579b12a .
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About this source
Yonhap report of September 30, 2026 on North Korea's denial, quoting Kim Yo Jong's statement as carried by KCNA and summarizing the mines found and Kang Shin-chul's remarks to lawmakers.
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About this source
Associated Press report of September 30, 2026 (published the evening of September 29 in U.S. Eastern time) on Kim Yo Jong's statement and the UN Command's announcement, with background on the 2015 mine blasts. The link is the CP24 copy of the AP text.
Before the quotation
KCNA dated the statement Pyongyang, September 30, and said Kim issued it on September 29, the day after the Joint Chiefs' preliminary findings. This is the first North Korean response to the South Korean findings that we located. The statement was published before the Joint Chiefs' and UN Command statements of September 30.
After the quotation
The statement goes on to call it absurd that South Korea made a conclusion about "the origin of the said mine exploded in the barren land which they had never set foot for more than a half century," and says it is "the height of impudence" that South Korea is trying to fabricate evidence. It says North Korea's border barriers are "a thorough exercise of sovereignty unrelated with any military purpose" and that border units have orders to retaliate if South Korean troops fire live rounds at soldiers working on them. Outlets translated its Korean title differently, for example as "self-staged farce."
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. Kim said South Korea's results are groundless and the incident "a clear farce," and questioned the mine's provenance. In her account the South Korean attribution is untrue, so we labeled it Denied. She rejects the attribution but does not give another account of who laid the mines.
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- People and groups discussed
- Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea
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“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
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UN Command says it "determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred" and identified an active North Korean mine south of the MDL
United Nations Command
“During the investigation, the team identified an active Democratic People's Republic of Korea anti-personnel mine on the ROK side of the Military Demarcation Line ... Based on the findings of the investigation, UNC determined that an Armistice Agreement violation occurred. UNC is addressing the violation through established Armistice mechanisms”Read statement