North Korea Plants Landmines Near Bridge of No Return

Via a reader tip comes this news that the North Koreans decided to do their part and begin a provocation cycle during the UFG16 military exercise by planting landmines at the Panmunjom peace village:

The American-led U.N. Command in South Korea on Tuesday accused North Korea of planting land mines near a truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.

Much of the border, one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, is strewn with land mines and laced with barbed wire. But South Korean media said no land mines had been planted in the area of the truce village of Panmunjom until North Korea placed an unspecified number there last week.

The U.N. Command said in a statement that it “strongly condemns” any North Korean action that jeopardizes the safety of personnel in the DMZ.

It said it wouldn’t speculate on why North Korea placed the mines there. Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said the North apparently planted the mines to prevent front-line North Korean soldiers from defecting to South Korea via Panmunjom.  [Seattle Times]

You can read more at the link, but it would be surprising to see a North Korean soldier defect at Panmunjom because of how specially selected they are for that mission.  Anyway according to the Joong Ang Ilbo the mines were planted near the Bridge of No Return:

Image of the Bridge of No Return via the DMZ webpage.

“The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities detected last week that the North Korean soldiers were planting multiple mines north of the Bridge of No Return near Panmunjom,” the source said. “It is the first time that they witnessed the North’s land mine placement in that area since the Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953.”

The Bridge of No Return is located inside the truce village, west of the Joint Security Area. The bridge crosses the military demarcation line between the two Koreas, and it was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War. The name came from the final ultimatum given to the prisoners of war before their repatriation, because they would never be allowed to return once they cross the bridge to return to their homeland.

“Under the regulations governing the truce, planting land mines is forbidden in the areas near the Panmunjom,” said a South Korean government official. “The guards are banned from carrying heavy weapons. The United Nations Command strongly protested to the North about the move.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but keep in mind that the Bridge of No Return was the location of the 1976 DMZ Axe Murder Incident.  August 18th was the 40 year anniversary of this incident which leads me to believe the planting of the landmines was a North Korean jab at the US in regards to the anniversary of this incident.