South Korea's Ministry of Unification said it would "press ahead without wavering with the policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula," responding to a statement by Kim Yo-jong, a department director of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, who denied that Pyongyang bore responsibility for a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone. The ministry said the statement "confirmed once again how high the wall of distrust between the two Koreas has grown as a result of years of hostile and confrontational policy."
In a notice to the press, the ministry said it believes that "ending long-standing hostility and confrontation and building a peace in which there is no need to fight is the most realistic way to protect the lives and safety of the people." The ministry added that it would "work with related agencies to devise measures to prevent another landmine explosion, while maintaining the policy of peaceful coexistence."
Kim made the remarks in a statement dated the 29th that was released by the Korean Central News Agency on the 30th of last month, calling the DMZ landmine blast a staged incident by the South and denying any North Korean responsibility. She also threatened retaliation if live fire is directed at North Korean troops and said the North would reinforce tactical counterattack capabilities in border areas.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who cut short a trip to Europe and headed home, wrote on Facebook on the 30th of last month that the response to the incident "must not become a pretext for disparaging or distorting our efforts toward peace on the Korean Peninsula."
Chung said that "a thorough investigation to establish the facts is needed, along with measures based on the final findings," while stressing that "rather than wasteful political strife, we need to reflect deeply on why such unfortunate events keep recurring and seek fundamental alternatives."
The government is understood to view the statement as a sign that Pyongyang is managing the situation to keep the DMZ landmine incident from becoming a sudden setback, given that the North addressed a military matter through Kim rather than through the Ministry of National Defence or the General Staff Department.
