Seoul, South Korea - A blast that injured three South Korean military officers inside the Demilitarized Zone last week was likely caused by North Korean landmines, Seoul's military said Monday.
The preliminary findings of a joint probe with the United Nations Command into the September 21 explosion suggested that "recently planted mines" were involved, Kwon Dae-won, vice chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a live briefing.
"The mines exploded at a location about 10 meters (33 feet) south of the Military Demarcation Line, and we have confirmed that the site was about 10 meters from an area where changes in the terrain were observed and where North Korean forces are believed to have recently planted mines," he said.
"Taking into account the crater and the pattern of the flames from the explosion, the extent of the injuries sustained by the service members... we assess that North Korean landmines are highly suspected to have caused the blast."
Kwon said two landmines exploded and that a third, unexploded mine was found while soldiers were withdrawing after the blast.
Once completed, should the probe conclude that nuclear-armed Pyongyang was responsible, "North Korea would bear full responsibility for the incident, and our military will take appropriate and corresponding measures," Kwon said, without giving details.
The DMZ is a 154-mile-long and roughly 2.5-mile-wide buffer zone that has divided the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice.
While the zone itself is officially demilitarised, its northern and southern boundaries are among the world's most heavily fortified frontiers and remain littered with landmines.
With no peace treaty signed, Seoul and Pyongyang technically remain at war.