SEOUL – South Korea said Thursday it will formally raise North Korea’s alleged violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement with the United Nations Security Council, as Pyongyang stepped up its threats against Seoul over escalating military tensions along the inter-Korean border.
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, Cha Ji-hoon, would send a letter — concerning two land mine explosions on Sept. 21 inside the Demilitarized Zone that injured three South Korean soldiers — to the Security Council president in New York later Thursday. The letter will be addressed to Aglaia Balta, Greece’s permanent representative to the United Nations, who holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for October.a
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said during a regular briefing that the letter would explain the explosions were caused by land mines planted by North Korea, constituting a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
The letter will also demand an apology and responsible measures from Pyongyang, while urging dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust, according to Park.
“We also intend to draw attention to North Korea’s recent attempts to portray our military’s legitimate operations near the Military Demarcation Line as provocations and shift responsibility for escalating regional tensions onto our side,” Park said during a regular press briefing.
The diplomatic move is intended to bring international attention to North Korea’s alleged armistice violations and could lay the groundwork for stronger Security Council action if Pyongyang engages in further provocations.
Potential follow-up measures could include discussions at the Security Council and, depending on the response of its members, the adoption of a presidential statement or resolution.
Seoul took a similar diplomatic step in August 2015, when two South Korean soldiers were seriously injured by North Korean wooden-box land mines during a routine patrol inside the DMZ.
The South Korean military accused Pyongyang of deliberately planting the explosives on the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line, in violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. Seoul subsequently sent a letter to the UN Security Council president 14 days after the incident, seeking to draw international attention to North Korea’s actions.
The latest move comes amid a sharp escalation in rhetoric from North Korea, with Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un and director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee, issuing a series of statements condemning South Korean military operations near the border.
Kim also warned that the South Korean administration would face “the most horrible and distressing situation” if it continued criticizing Pyongyang’s actions along the border.
Her latest remarks followed an unusual inspection of North Korea’s border fortification work early Wednesday, during which she was accompanied by Pak Jong-chon, an adviser to the North’s Ministry of National Defense, and senior military commanders.
Kim on Thursday threatened to bring propaganda loudspeakers targeting South Korea into operational readiness across the border region within days, raising concerns about a renewed cycle of psychological warfare between the two Koreas.
North Korea has been fortifying its southern border since April 2024, laying land mines and erecting fences and barriers as part of its efforts to physically separate itself from South Korea.
North Korean soldiers have repeatedly approached or crossed the Military Demarcation Line during the work, prompting South Korean forces to issue warning broadcasts and fire warning shots.
Tensions intensified after the Sept. 21 explosions, which South Korea’s military and the United Nations Command concluded was caused by North Korean antipersonnel mines planted south of the MDL in violation of the Armistice Agreement. Pyongyang has denied responsibility.
Meanwhile, Seoul is continuing to consider additional unilateral sanctions targeting North Korea’s illicit cyber activities, despite opposition from Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who has raised concerns that the move could further strain inter-Korean relations.
A Foreign Ministry official, declining to be named, defended the need for such measures, noting that North Korea’s illicit cyber operations serve as a major source of funding for its nuclear and missile programs while posing a threat to the global digital economy.
Although no decision has been made, the official said the sanctions remain “under internal review” and have “not been taken off the table.”
The official stressed, however, that the proposed measures are not necessarily intended as retaliation for the recent DMZ land mine explosion, but are part of broader efforts that Seoul has been pursuing through consultations with Washington and Tokyo.
ANN/The Korea Herald