Overview
On August 4, 2015, around 7:40 a.m., Ha Jaeheon, a staff sergeant of the 1st Infantry Division of the South Korean army, stepped on a wooden box mine when he and another staff sergeant Kim Jeongwon opened the gate of a barbed wire fence to patrol the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a buffer that separates the two Koreas, in Paju City in Gyeonggido Province of the South.
A second blast occurred when Kim tried to help his wounded colleague to safety. The explosions occurred 930m south of the North Korean guard post, 440m south of the military demarcation line, and 2 km north of the South Korean general outpost.
The first blast took place 40 cm north of the gate, and the second 25 cm south of the gate. The South Korean soldiers on patrol perceived the situation as an enemy attack. Sergeant first class Jeong Gyoseong, who had led the soldiers, grabbed Kim and crawled away from the gate. The situation ended when all the patrol soldiers withdrew to a tactical road while maintaining combat readiness.
On August 10, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced that the collected residues of the explosives were found to be identical to wooden box mines used by the North Korean Army, according to a joint team of investigators who examined the cause of the DMZ episode. The ministry added that North Korean soldiers seemed to have planted the mines by infiltrating as far as 440m across the military demarcation line in the DMZ into the So,uth.
The South’s army assumed that the mines had been planted between July 26 and August 1 in that there had been up to 150mm of heavy rain from July 24 to 26 and the North's guard post sentries took turns on July 25. Wooden box mines are a type of anti-personnel mines that consist of a pine wood box and an explosive and a detonator inside the box, which can cause injury to anyone within 2m.
The DMZ landmine incident was the first of its kind in 48 years since 1966-1967. The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) considered it as a critical violation of the Korean War armistice.
Background
The landmine provocation by North Korea took place on August 4, 2015, just 11 days before August 15, the 70th anniversary of Korea's independence from imperial Japan. Earlier that year, the South Korean government asked the North's counterpart about holding a joint celebration of the 70th anniversary.
The North Korean government, however, demanded that the May 24th sanctions imposed on North Korea be first removed, claiming "The sinking of South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, which led to the sanctions, was fabricated."
The demand was not accepted, and a joint celebration fell through due to problems such as location. Each side was about to hold anniversary events separately before the landmine incident occurred. There were speculations about why the North planted the mines.
The North might have intended to retaliate against propaganda leaflets floated by North Korean defectors in the South into the North, disrupt Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG), a South Korea US combined military exercise set to begin on August 17, or trigger internal tensions in the South regarding the cause of the explosions. A South Korean officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said "North Korea might have aimed to cause internal conflicts in South Korea prior to the UFG exercise and disturb the drill by making the cause of the incident ambiguous."
The officer added "It is likely that North Korea chose rather an easy way of causing internal strife to distract South Korea from concentrating on its security and national defense."
Development
On August 10 in the morning, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea released a warning statement calling on North Korea to offer an apology and punish anyone responsible for the landmine explosions. On the same day at 5 p.m., the South Korean Defense Ministry decided to resume propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers into the North for the first time in 11 years since 2004.
The decision was taken to install loudspeakers and start broadcasting in 11 locations near the western, central and eastern frontlines, including the 1st Infantry Division in Paju and Yeoncheon. On the same day, the UNCMAC proposed a generallevel meeting to North Korea which, however, rejected the proposal. On August 11, Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office of South Korea,urged North Korea to "apologize for the provocation and ensure harsh punishment on anyone responsible" while asserting "North Korea's provocation is a flagrant violation of the armistice and the nonaggression pact with South Korea."
On August 13, the UNCMAC suggested once again a general level meeting only to see it turned down by the North. Two days later, on August 15, the Frontline Command of the Korean People's Army of the North demanded the removal of loudspeakers in a public warning, threatening that it will destroy means of propaganda and launch indiscriminate attacks unless its demand is not accepted. On the same day, however, the South Korea US Combined Forces Command and the UNCMAC notified the North of the UFG joint military drill scheduled to take place from August 17 to 28.
On August 20, in response, North Korea fired a 14.5mm anti-aircraft gun at a hill near a subordinate unit of the 28th Division in Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggido Province at 3:53 p.m. At 4:12 p.m., the North fired three 76.2mm shells from a direct fire weapon towards 700m south of the military demarcation line in the DMZ.
At around 5 p.m., the North sent a telegraph notification signed by the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army through the military hotline in the West Sea, which stated "Propaganda broadcasts are a serious challenge (to North Korea)... Halt propaganda broadcasts within 48 hours from 5 p.m. today... (North Korea will) initiate military action if the loudspeakers are not removed by August 22." At 5:04 p.m., in response to the North's firing of the shells, the South Korean army fired 29 rounds of 155mm self-propelled artillery at an area 500m north of the military demarcation line.
Then, the South Korean military went on full alert and issued 'Jindo Dog 1', the highest military alert level, for the 6th Corps. At around 6 p.m., an emergency meeting of the National Security Council was convened at Cheong Wa Dae, in which the military decided to continue propaganda broadcasts.
That night, North Korea called an emergency enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, and it issued an ultimatum saying that it will take military action unless South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts by 5 p.m., August 22.
On August 22, early in the morning,North Korea's Foreign Ministry announced a statement threatening that North Korea is ready to wage an allout war. At 9:35 a.m., however, the North sent a notification letter signed by Hwang Byeongseo, Chief of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, suggesting a high level meeting. Finally at 6 p.m., a high level meeting began with two attendees from each side. On August 25, both sides reached the August 25th agreement.
Significance
On August 15, in her speech marking the 70th anniversary of Korea's independence, South Korean President Park Geun-hye suggested the creation of a DMZ ecopeace park and the connection of roads and railways between the two Koreas to expand exchanges, while she expressed regret about the North's landmine provocation.
The president also proposed sending the list of over 60,000 members of families separated by the Korean War to the North to plan regular family reunions. As such, the South's government did not give up peaceful ways of addressing inter Korean issues despite all the provocations by the North. Nevertheless, on August 16, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea in the North leveled harsh criticism, saying "The suggestions are just intended to make money in the demilitarized zone, which is completely ludicrous."
The landmine provocation by the North disappointed many South Koreans who had expected to see an improvement of inter-Korean relations on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation which is celebrated on both sides.
The series of provocation fueled public anger. Even members of the National Assembly in the South called for strong retribution, saying "Resuming propaganda broadcasts is nothing close to severe punishment that has been said."
Since the incident, more people in the South have become in favor of a tough response to the North's provocation against the South and many have started to pay attention to the reality in North Korea.