A mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone on the western front was likely caused by a resin anti-personnel mine similar to North Korea's wooden-box mines, according to interim findings released by the South Korean military.
Lieutenant General Kwon Dae-won, deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and head of the joint on-site investigation task force, said at a briefing on Sept. 28 that investigators had concluded a North Korean mine was very likely the cause.
Kwon said the blast crater identified during the on-site inspection, testimony about the shape of the flames and the extent of injuries to the wounded soldiers all indicated the explosion was not caused by a South Korean mine.
The military said there are no records of South Korean mines being laid in the area where the explosion occurred. It added that traces of North Korean mine-laying in nearby areas were found in September 2025. The blast site is about 10 meters south of the Military Demarcation Line.
Two mines detonated at the time of the incident and a third was found during the withdrawal, according to testimony, leading the military to believe a total of three mines were present in the immediate area.
