[On-Site Video] Lim Jong-deuk: "Thorough Investigation into the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Explosion ... If North Korea Is Responsible, Hold It Strictly Accountable"

People Power Party lawmaker Lim Jong-deuk, secretary of the National Defense Committee, called on the authorities on the 22nd to thoroughly determine the facts surrounding the explosion that occurred during a search operation in the Western Front's DMZ the previous day, including any possible connection to North Korea. He also urged the government to provide full compensation at the national level for the injured service members.
Lim said, "Three military officers conducting a search operation in the Western Front's DMZ were injured in an explosion," adding, "As these service members were injured while carrying out their mission to defend the country on the front line, the state must take responsibility to the end—not only for their treatment and recovery but also for all necessary support."
Regarding the military authorities' explanation immediately after the accident, he said, "It is concerning that they appear to be downplaying the possibility that the mines were laid by the North Korean military or were displaced mines before the exact cause has been determined." He also mentioned the possibility of North Korean mines being displaced, which the military warned about last July, as well as recent trends in North Korean mine-laying.
He also recalled the 2015 wooden-box mine provocation on the Western Front and stressed that the incident should be investigated carefully while keeping all possibilities open. Lim said, "The type of explosive and how it came to be there must be determined without leaving any doubt," adding, "If it is confirmed that the North Korean military deliberately planted it, North Korea must be held strictly accountable, and we must respond firmly."
He also called on the Democratic Party of Korea to actively cooperate with convening a full meeting of the National Defense Committee to determine the facts of the accident.


[email protected] Park Beom-jun Reporter