Cheong Wa Dae: “We will continue to take necessary measures based on clear principles regarding the DMZ land mine explosion”

[Financial News] Wi Sung-lac, chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office, said at a press briefing held on the 30th at the Chunchugwan Press Center at the Blue House, “Our government will continue to take necessary measures regarding the land mine explosion in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), guided by clear principles,” and added, “The government intends to pursue its policy of peaceful coexistence consistently and focus its capabilities on creating ‘a peace in which there is no need to fight.’”
Chief Wi said, “Last month, our service members conducting an operation in the DMZ on the western front, south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), were seriously injured when mines laid by North Korea exploded. After the incident, we investigated it together with the United Nations Command. In announcing the final findings, we stated that the North Korean military’s mines violated the Korean Armistice Agreement and demanded an apology and responsible measures from North Korea. We blew up and removed the North Korean military’s minefield at the site of the incident, and have also responded diplomatically, including by explaining our position to major countries and the international community on occasions such as the United Nations General Assembly and sending a letter to the United Nations Security Council.”
He went on to say, “We are responding firmly, in accordance with operational guidelines, to North Korea’s acts of crossing the MDL. We have also assessed and demonstrated our military’s readiness to respond through such means as test launches of hypersonic missiles.” He added, “We have proposed several times that the military authorities of the two Koreas hold talks to resolve the differing perceptions of the MDL, the fundamental cause of tensions in the area around the MDL.”
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter