---
title: "North Korea rejects South’s accusation over DMZ mine blast, KCNA says"
description: "North Korea on Friday rejected as \"groundless\" Seoul's accusation that North Korean mines seriously wounded South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarised Zone and dismissed Seoul's demand for an apology, state news agency KCNA reported."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "World"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters-dailymaverick-co-za/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-02-north-korea-rejects-souths-accusation-over-dmz-mine-blast-kcna-says/"
published: "2026-10-02T13:11:35"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 250
---

# North Korea rejects South’s accusation over DMZ mine blast, KCNA says

> North Korea on Friday rejected as "groundless" Seoul's accusation that North Korean mines seriously wounded South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarised Zone and dismissed Seoul's demand for an apology, state news agency KCNA reported.

By Reuters · Published 2 October 2026, 15:11 SAST

## Content

Kim Yo Jong, an official of the North's ruling Workers' Party and the influential sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyanghad not deliberately planted mines in the border zone, KCNA reported.

South Korea has jumped to the groundless conclusion that the explosion was caused by someone's covert and intended mine-laying, Kim said in a statement carried by KCNA.

"They even called for an 'apology'. It is really despicable," she said.

South Korea said this week North Korean mines caused the blast that seriously wounded two South Korean soldiers on a reconnaissance mission inside the 4-km (2.5-mile) wide border that stretches across the Korean Peninsula.

Its military demanded North Korea apologise and halt work fortifying the border, saying it would take "corresponding" action in response.

South Korea's military has conducted a probe of the September 21 incident with the United Nations Command that oversees the Korean War armistice. The UN Command said on Wednesday the incident constituted a violation of the Korean War armistice.

Kim said the fortification being conducted in the border zone was designed to seal the border shut for good so that "even wild animals cannot come and go."

"Why do they suppose that we would have done so to go with them?" she said, referring to the mine blast.

North Korea has sharply ramped up hostility against the South in recent years, disavowing unification as a national goal and calling South Korea its "primary foe."

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim, Jack KimEditing by Ed Davies)