South Korean military, UN command launch investigation into DMZ explosion

SEOUL, Sept 27 (Reuters) – South Korea’s military and the United Nations Command launched a joint investigation into a landmine explosion near the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday, as opposition lawmakers called for transparency about the origins of the device.

The investigative team of about 40 officials searched an area near the site where the blast happened on September 21, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The military said it will verify the cause of the explosion through further searches and publicly disclose the outcome as opposition lawmakers called for transparency amid suspicions the device may have originated from North Korea.

Three South Korean soldiers were injured by an explosion on Monday while clearing a patrol route in the western sector of the DMZ, a heavily fortified area bordering North Korea. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the explosion was caused by a landmine.

Mine explosions and other blasts are a recurring hazard in and around the DMZ, where legacy devices and suspected stray mines have periodically injured military personnel on both sides.

North Korean forces resumed fortification work near the border in March, including mine-laying ​and fence ​construction, South Korean media reports said.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim and Hyunyoung Yi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Elaine Hardcastle)

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