N. Korea has planted nearly 1 million land mines in DMZ since 2024, says S. Korean military — SkimNews
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- North Korea has planted approximately 960,000 land mines in the DMZ since 2024, as confirmed by South Korean military data presented to the National Assembly.
- North Korea has cleared vegetation, built barriers and tactical roads, installed barbed wire, and severed rail and road links along the DMZ since April 2024, following its declaration of inter-Korean relations as those between 'two hostile states'.
- A South Korean soldier was seriously injured on September 21 by a land mine explosion south of the military demarcation line, highlighting the operational dangers of North Korea’s mine-laying campaign.
- Kim Yo Jong stated on October 22 that new countermeasures are on standby along the border and that propaganda loudspeakers aimed at South Korea would be reactivated within days.
- South Korean forces have fired warning shots in response to repeated crossings of the military demarcation line by North Korean troops conducting fortification work, escalating military tensions.
Why it matters: The scale and speed of North Korea’s DMZ fortifications—nearly a million mines in under a year—mark a material shift from symbolic hostility to physical entrenchment, increasing the risk of accidental clashes. With active countermeasures and propaganda systems now on standby, the window for de-escalation is narrowing rapidly.
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