By Chang Dong-woo
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) — South Korea urged North Korea to take “accountable measures” Thursday on the United Nations, accusing Pyongyang of violating the Armistice Settlement by intentionally planting a land mine that injured three South Korean troopers close to the inter-Korean border final month.
Throughout a committee assembly of the 81st session of the U.N. Normal Meeting in New York, South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Cha Ji-hoon stated a joint investigation by the South Korean navy and the United Nations Command (UNC) confirmed {that a} Sept. 21 explosion was attributable to a land mine intentionally planted by North Korean forces south of the Army Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the 2 Koreas.
“A joint on-site investigation by ROK navy and the UNC supported by forensic evaluation confirmed that the explosion was attributable to a landmine intentionally planted by DPRK forces south of the navy demarcation line,” Cha stated, referring to the 2 Koreas by their official names, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea, respectively.
Cha stated the incident constituted a transparent violation of the Armistice Settlement, including, “We urge the DPRK to stop such escalatory actions upon apology and take accountable measures.”
The North Korean consultant, nonetheless, rejected Seoul’s accusation, describing it as an try and painting Pyongyang’s efforts to fortify its southern border as a navy incursion.
“That is not more than poor trick of the ROK navy to shift the blame of its personal onto the DPRK,” the consultant stated.
The Koreas additionally reiterated their opposing positions on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Cha reaffirmed Seoul’s dedication to nuclear nonproliferation and known as on North Korea to return to full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and related U.N. Safety Council resolutions.
The North Korean consultant defended Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons as an inevitable selection to guard its sovereignty towards what it described because the “decadeslong U.S. nuclear menace.”
This picture offered by the South Korean Mission to the U.N. reveals Ambassador Cha Ji-hoon (2nd from R) talking throughout a session on the U.N. headquarters in New York on July 16, 2026. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
odissy@yna.co.kr
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