Three South Korean officers injured in DMZ blast of unknown origin

Three South Korean military officers were injured in an explosion in the western sector of the Demilitarized Zone on 21 September, in an area where mines and unexploded devices remain a persistent danger.

The blast occurred south of the military demarcation line inside the demilitarised zone during a military operation. Two of the officers were evacuated by helicopter. A third was taken by road before being airlifted. All three are receiving treatment at a military hospital near the capital, Seoul.

The source of the explosion has yet to be established. It was unclear whether it involved a North Korean mine, a South Korean mine or another explosive device. The severity of the officers' injuries was also unknown.

The incident took place in a 248km-long and roughly 4km-wide buffer zone that has divided the Korean peninsula since the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War. The DMZ remains one of the world's most heavily militarized frontiers, with decades of military activity leaving mines and unexploded ordnance in and around the area.

Around 800,000 mines are estimated to be buried around the area. Mine explosions and other blasts have remained a recurring hazard for personnel on both sides of the DMZ. Legacy devices and suspected stray mines have periodically injured military personnel.

Fortification activity along the border has added to those risks. Since 2024, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un designated South Korea as his country's principal enemy, Pyongyang's military has laid mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier.

A previous incident in 2015 highlighted the danger and the difficulty of assigning responsibility for blasts near the border. Two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded when a landmine exploded on the southern side of the DMZ. One of them lost both legs.

Seoul concluded that North Korean troops had crossed the military demarcation line to plant the mines used in that incident. Pyongyang denied the accusation. No determination has yet been made over the device involved in the latest explosion, and there was no information on any response from North Korea.