Kim Yo Jong says North Korean soldiers "have never crossed the border" and that the crossing claim is meant to shift responsibility
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 the same September 30, 2026 KCNA statement, Kim Yo Jong said South Korea's claim that North Korean soldiers cross the border is "a deliberate and planned strained assertion" meant to shift responsibility for rising tension, and said "our soldiers have never crossed the border." She said the South Korean military cannot distinguish its own land from other land, though the boundary can be confirmed by the naked eye.
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.
“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.”
Original text
Reporting
Reporting
Reporting
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 .
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
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.
Reporting
About this source
Reuters report of September 30, 2026 on Kim Yo Jong's statement, the UN Command's finding and the Joint Chiefs' demand for an apology. The link is ThePrint's copy of the Reuters text.
Reporting
About this source
Korea Times cover story of September 30, 2026 on what investigators had and had not established, including when the mines were planted and how the Military Demarcation Line is marked at the site.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Military officials told reporters on September 9, 2026 that North Korean troops crossed the MDL more than 20 times in August, and a Joint Chiefs official said intrusions were detected as troops carried out border-fortification tasks in areas not yet completed. South Korea said it fired warning shots in response. Reuters noted that Seoul has said there were signs North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the line during fortification work.
After the quotation
The Korea Times reported that South Korean military officials said MDL markers at the blast site are not continuous, that perceptions of the exact boundary can differ in some areas, and that they had not ruled out that North Korea regarded the location as being on its side. The JCS puts the blasts about 10 meters south of the line. The statement describes the blast site as land South Korea had not set foot on for more than half a century.
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 mines south of the MDL, which depends in part on whether North Korean soldiers crossed the line. Kim said her soldiers have never crossed the border and called the crossing claim an assertion made to shift responsibility. In her account a disputed factual claim is untrue, so we labeled it Denied. The passage does not discuss the mines directly and does not say whether North Korea regards the blast site as its own side of the line.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea
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 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
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