South and North Korea clashed at the United Nations on Thursday over recent land mine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone, with Seoul accusing Pyongyang of violating the Armistice Agreement and demanding an apology while the North denies responsibility.
South Korean Ambassador to the UN Cha Ji-hoon raised the Sept. 21 explosions during the general debate of the First Committee of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, saying three South Korean military personnel were injured.
“A joint on-site investigation by ROK military and the UNC supported by forensic analysis confirmed that the explosion was caused by a landmine deliberately planted by DPRK forces south of the Military Demarcation Line,” Cha said.
ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name; DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.
Cha called the incident “a clear violation” of the Korean Armistice Agreement, signed on July 27, 1953, which brought a halt to the 1950-53 Korean War.
“We urge the DPRK to cease such escalatory actions upon apology and take responsible measures,” he said, also calling on Pyongyang to engage in dialogue to ease tensions and rebuild trust.
North Korea rejected the accusation, saying Seoul was attempting to portray Pyongyang’s fortification activities along its southern border, which it described as a legitimate exercise of sovereignty, as military encroachment.
The North Korean representative also cited South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young by name, arguing that even a South Korean government official had said it was difficult to characterize the mine explosions as an intentional North Korean attack.
During a parliamentary audit of the Unification Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday, Chung said the incident could not yet be defined as an “attack” by North Korea.
The North Korean side said it would exercise its sovereignty more resolutely to ensure security along what it calls its southern border.
Pyongyang made a similar claim Thursday, when Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed Seoul’s account of the mine incident as a “self-composed farce.”
Separately, Cha criticized North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its military cooperation with Russia, saying they threatened peace and the global nonproliferation regime and violated UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea also rejected criticism of its nuclear and missile programs, arguing that its nuclear arsenal was necessary to counter what it calls the US nuclear threat.
The First Committee is one of six main UN General Assembly committees and deals with disarmament and international security.
The names of individual representatives speaking for each country were not disclosed during the session, with speakers identified only by the countries they represented.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com