Chung Dong-young: “Intent behind North Korean landmine incident cannot be determined”; Han Dong-hoon: “Crossing someone else’s wall is an attack”

[Financial News] Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stuck to his previous position on the 27th, saying it was difficult to determine whether the North Korean military’s landmine explosion incident was intentional. Chung made the remarks that day during a comprehensive audit session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. He also said, “Landmines are defensive weapons. However, the government views the incident as a violation of the Armistice Agreement.”
In response, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon countered that he could not agree with Chung’s claim, asking, “If you cross someone else’s wall, isn’t that a landmine attack?” The debate continued.
Han said, “If you plant them on your own land, you can call that defensive, but if you cross someone else’s wall and plant them in the entryway and bedroom, that’s an attack, and planting them secretly is deliberate.” He then asked, “If I sneaked into Minister Chung’s home and planted a landmine, wouldn’t that be a landmine attack?”
Nevertheless, Minister Chung stuck to his position, saying, “At this point, it is difficult to determine whether it was intentional.”
Han said, “The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea crossed into our territory and planted them,” then pressed him: “Why are you speaking like a third party, Minister Chung? Shouldn’t South Korea’s position be the same as the Unification Minister’s?” He also countered that Kang Kyung-wha, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, had said, “It was clearly not an accident.”
Han advised, “The Unification Minister should represent our position, not act as a referee or talk about personal philosophy.”
Chung responded, “There is one Military Demarcation Line (MDL), but there are two claims between North and South. Our position is that they crossed the line by 10 meters and planted the mines. Nevertheless, it is difficult to determine whether they were deliberately planted to carry out a landmine attack.”
Chung explained, “North Korea claims it did not cross over even an inch. Objectively, there is not just one line.”

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