Key facts
- Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul visited soldiers injured in a suspected landmine blast inside the DMZ.
- The blast occurred while soldiers were clearing a path for a U.N. Command inspection of North Korea's border fortification measures.
- A lieutenant colonel had his ankle severed and a sergeant first class fractured his ankle in the explosion.
- Kang promised full government support for the soldiers' medical treatment and recovery.
- Kang vowed a thorough investigation into the explosion and stated the military would respond to North Korean provocations.
South Korea's new Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul visited a military hospital on Wednesday to console two soldiers injured in a suspected landmine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. The blast, which occurred on Monday, severed the ankle of a lieutenant colonel and fractured the ankle of a sergeant first class, both from the 25th Infantry Division. The soldiers were clearing a path for a U.N. Command inspection of North Korea's border-hardening measures, such as mine-laying and fencing, which was scheduled to begin early next week. Defense Minister Kang, who officially took office Tuesday, expressed deep sympathies to the wounded officers and their families at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul. He praised the soldiers as "true heroes" and promised the government's full support for their medical treatment and recovery. While an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the blast, speculation is growing that land mines illegally planted by North Korean troops on the South's side of the DMZ may be to blame. Kang vowed a thorough investigation and asserted that the military will not shy away from responding to North Korean provocations.