North Korea denies South's claim it was behind DMZ blasts

South Korea's military has demanded an apology from North Korea, blaming Pyongyang for a 21 September explosion that severely injured three South Korean soldiers inside the countries' Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

"South Korean soldiers sustained serious injuries from North Korean landmines while conducting normal search operations south of the Military Demarcation Line," Kang Hyun-woo, chief director of operations of Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

"This is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements; it must be stopped immediately," he said, adding "we strongly urge an apology and responsible measures".

Mr Kang glared into the camera as he read the statement aloud in a raised voice.

It comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong denied claims that North Korea was behind the landmine blasts, according to state media.

The assertion over the explosions "is too low and dirty as befitting the tribes of the ROK", Ms Kim said in a statement, the KCNA news agency reported, referring to the South's formal name, the Republic of Korea.

Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war since the Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Landmine incidents have previously heightened tensions between the two Koreas.

One of the three South Korean officers severely injured in the explosion inside the DMZ, the heavily mined buffer dividing both countries since their 1953 armistice, lost his foot.

After carrying out an investigation into the incident, the South Korean Defense Ministry said it concluded that North Korean mines were "highly suspected" of causing the two explosions.

"This is a clear violation of the armistice agreement, and since North Korea bears responsibility, we will take corresponding measures," South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said.

But Ms Kim said the South is "cooking up" false allegations as a pretext for political and military provocation against North Korea, KCNA said.

Since 2024, after Mr Kim designated South Korea as his country's "principal enemy", Pyongyang's military has laid mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier as part of efforts to permanently seal it off.

During the operation, Pyongyang also blew up the northern parts of inter-Korean roads no longer in use.

Mr Kang said that the North Korean mines linked to the 21 September incident were believed to have been laid as part of Pyongyang's border fortification work.

In a 2015 incident, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded in a landmine blast on the southern side of the DMZ, with one losing both legs.

Seoul concluded that North Korean troops had crossed the Military Demarcation Line to plant the mines, an accusation Pyongyang denied.

The incident prompted South Korea to resume anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.