Seoul ‘fabricated’ landmine blast, North Korea tells UN in letter

South Korea blames Pyongyang for September landmine blast, but North Korea says incident a ‘sinister obstructive move’.

Pyongyang has sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) accusing Seoul of fabricating a landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers, according to North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency.

The North Korean permanent representative to the UN wrote to the UNSC on Sunday regarding the “provocation the ROK [Republic of Korea] committed by groundlessly shifting the blame for the dubious ‘mine explosion incident’”, warning that violations of the country’s sovereignty could trigger self-defence.

Tensions have intensified after South Korea blamed a September 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries on North Korean landmines. North Korea has rejected the accusations.

Pyongyang’s UN representative alleged the landmine incident was “a sinister obstructive move to brand as a ‘military invasion’”, adding that South Korea’s claims were a “farce to evade the responsibility for the ever-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula”.

North Korea’s ongoing border fortification efforts were “a legitimate and just exercise of its sovereignty going in strict conformity with the UN Charter”, the letter states, while also criticising South Korea for violating the charter by firing warning shots at soldiers in the DMZ.

South Korea has said it fires shots to make North Korean soldiers return to the north when they cross the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that runs through the DMZ. In recent years, North Korean personnel have been building tactical roads and fences near the MDL.

The South Korean Unification Ministry said on Monday that Pyongyang’s letter aims to “justify its border fortification work” and serve as a “countermeasure” to Seoul’s message to the UN, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Last week, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the president of the UNSC, casting blame on North Korea for the landmine blast and calling it a “clear violation of the armistice agreement”.

The United States-led UN Command also said mine placement by North Korea violated the Armistice Agreement, signed in 1953 to end hostilities in the Korean War.

Days before North Korea’s letter to the UN, South ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Korea’s ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Defence Ministry proposed military talks to Pyongyang to “mutually confirm the precise location” of their border to reduce the risk of accidental clashes.