United Nations Command (UNC) Says North Korea Violated the Armistice; Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff (ROK JCS) Says It Must Apologize... Kim Yo Jong Denies a "Self-Staged Plot"

[Financial News] The United Nations Command (UNC) issued its first determination on the 30th that a North Korean landmine explosion in the western-front DMZ violated the Armistice Agreement. The UNC said it would take measures against North Korea under the established Armistice Agreement framework.
South Korea's military also called on North Korea that day to apologize for the landmine explosion and halt its fortification of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The move came just four days after the UNC and the South Korean military began a joint preliminary investigation on the 26th. However, Kim Yo Jong, director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea's Workers' Party and a key channel for the country’s external communications, made the specious claim in a statement that no North Korean troops had crossed the border and that the incident was a self-staged plot by the South.
The UNC said, "During the on-site investigation, we found one North Korean antipersonnel mine in an area belonging to the Republic of Korea south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)," adding, "Based on the investigation results, we determined that North Korea had violated the Armistice Agreement."
The UNC has been conducting a joint on-site investigation with the South Korean military into the landmine explosion that occurred in the DMZ on the 21st. The UNC stated, "We will remain fully committed to maintaining and implementing the Armistice Agreement, fulfilling our responsibility to preserve stability on the Korean Peninsula, and preventing an escalation of tensions."
South Korea's military called on North Korea to issue a formal apology and take responsible measures over the landmine explosion that occurred south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the western front.
Lieutenant General Kang Hyun-woo, director of operations at the ROK JCS, said at a briefing that day, "North Korea must immediately cease activities that raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula, including the so-called fortification of the border line, and we strongly urge the North to apologize and take responsible measures." He also held North Korea responsible, saying, "On the 21st, our soldiers were seriously injured by North Korean mines while conducting a routine search operation south of the Military Demarcation Line."
The ROK JCS said North Korea has continued to pursue so-called border fortification, including laying mines near the Military Demarcation Line, despite the South Korean government's consistent efforts toward peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula. It said these actions have contributed to rising tensions in border areas between the two Koreas.
General Kang said, "This is an obvious violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of existing inter-Korean agreements. It must be stopped immediately." He also warned, "We make it clear that North Korea will bear full responsibility for any situation that occurs in the future."
However, Kim Yo Jong, director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea's Workers' Party, categorically denied that day the South Korean military's preliminary finding that North Korea was responsible for the landmine explosion.
Kim called the South Korean military's preliminary findings "a self-staged farce by Seoul" and warned, "If even a single bullet hits its target, we will retaliate without mercy." North Korea appears to have issued the emphatic denial in preparation for the possibility that the South Korean military would jointly protest North Korea's violation of the Armistice Agreement with the UNC.
North Korea even claimed that the 2015 wooden-box mine incident was also a self-staged plot. It further made the specious claim that the South Korean government was creating a pretext to justify political and military provocations.
Kim said, "We cannot simply sit back and watch this shabby spectacle in which they step on and detonate a mine from an unknown source in an unknown place, arbitrarily suspect someone, and babble that a violation of the Armistice Agreement is obvious." She claimed, "To be clear, our soldiers have never crossed the border even once."
Kim said, "We will not stand by and watch the worrisome hostile acts taking place along the border," adding, "If even a single bullet lands on our soil, you must be prepared for serious consequences." She threatened, "We will carry out immediate and merciless retaliation."


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