North Korea tells UN Security Council South Korea staged DMZ mine blast

North Korea's UN envoy wrote to the Security Council on Sunday, Oct. 25, accusing South Korea of staging a landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers inside the Demilitarized Zone on Sept. 21. The Korean Central News Agency published details of the correspondence.

The letter calls the incident a "sinister obstructive move to brand as a 'military invasion'" and describes South Korea's account as a "farce to evade the responsibility for the ever-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula". It warns that violations of North Korea's sovereignty could prompt self-defence measures.

North Korea's permanent representative also defended border construction work underway near the Military Demarcation Line. The letter describes that work as "a legitimate and just exercise of its sovereignty going in strict conformity with the UN Charter", and criticizes South Korea for firing warning shots at soldiers in the DMZ.

South Korea says it fires those shots to push North Korean soldiers back across the Military Demarcation Line when they cross it. North Korean personnel have been building tactical roads and fences near that line in recent years.

South Korea sent its own letter to the Security Council president last week. It blamed North Korea for the Sept. 21 blast and called the incident a "clear violation of the armistice agreement". The US-led UN Command likewise said North Korea's mine placement violated the 1953 Armistice Agreement that ended Korean War hostilities.

Days before Pyongyang's letter reached the council, South Korea's Defence Ministry proposed military talks with North Korea to "mutually confirm the precise location" of their shared border, aiming to reduce the risk of accidental clashes.