North Korean invasion by box mine?

A 45-year old South Korean man was killed Saturday (31 July) and his 25-year old companion was injured when a wooden box land mine they found while fishing exploded. The box land mines were part of a cache of about 36 discovered by ROK authorities near the Imjin River, at the DPRK-ROK border. Box land mines were also discovered by local citizens on nearby islands. It is currently believed that the mines made their way south due to heavy rains inundating Kaesong and its surrounding areas in the DPRK.

As most of the official press reports – and, as summarized by NKLW, the overall condition of those box mines was quite pathetic for an invasion.

The JCS said personnel collected 16 on Ganghwa Island and 19 in the Imjin River area in Yeoncheon. Of the 16 found in Ganghwa, four boxes were empty and the other 12 were safely detonated. Of the 19 found in Yeoncheon, 16 were empty, two only had explosives without detonators, and the other detonated.

The JCS also said the Yeoncheon boxes were decayed and their safety pins had been removed, while those found in the Ganghwa area seemed to have been in storage because they still had their safety pins and looked relatively clean.

But, that won’t stop some from endorsing wingnut views. (Actually, this this is about the most intelligible argument on that page.)This is an issue of public safety and should alert local and national authorities in the ROK to the problems accompanying any deterioration in governance in neighboring regions of the DPRK.

Filed under: Korea Tagged: box mines, dprk, north korea, rok, South Korea