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Kim Yo-jong, General Affairs Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea. / Yonhap News

Kim Yo-jong, General Affairs Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, denied the South Korean government's announcement that an explosion south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) was caused by North Korean landmines, calling it an "unmistakable staged act."

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 30th, Director Kim released a statement the previous day titled "The culprits of provocation should be prepared for the price of their staged farce," claiming, "True to the nature of the South Korean clan, their playwriting is deplorably crude and base." She argued, "In terms of the timing of provocation and methodology, this incident is an unmistakable staged farce closely reminiscent of the 'wooden box landmine incident' that stirred up commotion across the world about ten years ago."

Director Kim went on to assert that North Korean troops had never crossed the MDL, pouring out raw vitriol: "The South Korean military should first consider what the world will say about their incompetence in failing to distinguish their own land from others' simply because they cannot properly discern even a demarcation line that is visible to the naked eye."

This is interpreted as an attempt to evade responsibility for the landmine provocation by exploiting ambiguities, such as the loss of clear reference points defining the current MDL.

At the same time, Director Kim highlighted that North Korea is exercising its "sovereignty," pointing out that its border-reinforcement projects are underway. Director Kim claimed, "For two years, barrier construction has been conducted across the southern border area as part of the border-reinforcement project, and this is strictly an exercise of sovereignty entirely unrelated to any military purposes." She further maintained, "They are seriously threatening the safety of our soldiers by making groundless accusations that our personnel crossed the line and even resorting to warning broadcasts and warning fire."

Director Kim continued, "Should even a single bullet land on our soil, they must be prepared for grave consequences." She added, "If they carry out live fire rather than warning fire, our border units will deliver immediate and relentless retaliation." She emphasized that "operational counteraction guidelines have already been handed down to the border defense sub-units."

                                                                                                            Mok Yong-jae