Seoul, Sep 28 (IANS) South Korea’s Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul said on Monday that “appropriate, substantial and corresponding” measures would be taken if the recent explosion inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is confirmed to have been caused by land mines planted by North Korea.
Kang made the remarks to reporters after meeting with Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), at the National Assembly. Reporters asked the minister how the government would respond if it is conclusively confirmed that the cause of the blast was land mines recently planted by North Korea.
Two South Korean soldiers were severely wounded in an explosion that happened on September 21 south of the Military Demarcation Line inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas. The incident involved two separate blasts and is suspected to have been caused by North Korean land mines.
Kang was also asked about a media report that soldiers had said they saw a North Korean wooden-box land mine near the explosion site, Yonhap News Agency reported. He said, “There are also statements suggesting it was not a wooden-box land mine.”
“It is difficult to determine the exact nature of the device. But as an on-site investigation is currently underway, we will provide a transparent explanation to the public as soon as the details are clarified,” the minister said.
Regarding opposition criticism that the government seeks to downplay or cover up the incident, Kang said that the military had no intention of covering up anything and would handle the matter transparently.
“I want to reiterate that there was absolutely no intentional delay or cover-up.”
In a text message to reporters, Representative Kim Byung-joo of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said the parliamentary national defence committee agreed to hold a plenary session on Tuesday to question relevant officials on the blast.
The DP and the PPP have been at loggerheads over how to handle the issue, with the DP proposing a joint inspection of the site and the PPP demanding a hearing by the defence committee.
DP members of the committee headed to the DMZ without their PPP colleagues earlier in the day.
Representative Lim Jong-deuk, the committee’s senior PPP member, told reporters his party accepted the DP’s proposal for a hearing on Tuesday.
–IANS
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