Defense Minister Kang says North Korea's border-hardening has "secondary effects" and the DMZ explosion "could be one of them"
Kang Shin-chulMinister of National Defense, speaking to reporters after his inauguration
On September 22, 2026, his first day as defense minister, Kang Shin-chul urged North Korea to stop its border fortification and said the explosion the day before could be one of the secondary effects of North Korea's border-hardening. He also said the military had not confirmed whether the suspected minefield, the patrol route and the explosion site matched, and that the investigation must determine that.
“There are secondary effects that stem from North Korea's border-hardening, and this (explosion) could be one of them”
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
Reporting
About this source
Korea Herald report of September 22, 2026, the day Kang Shin-chul took office as defense minister, on his first press remarks after the September 21 blasts.
Before the quotation
The remarks came at Kang's first press availability after his inauguration, the day after the blasts and before the joint on-site investigation began. The Joint Chiefs had said that day that all possibilities remained open, including that North Korean troops had buried mines. The English wording is Yonhap's rendering of Kang's Korean remarks.
After the quotation
Kang added, "The problem is that we cannot confirm this at this point. That is precisely what the investigation must determine." He said the military had no clear footage of the site because of difficult terrain.
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. Kang linked the blast to North Korea's border work only as a possibility and said the military could not yet confirm whether the sites matched. The position depends on what the investigation determines, so we labeled it Mixed or conditional.
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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