North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 landmines along its border with South Korea over the past two years, according to data released by Seoul following explosions that injured multiple soldiers.
The laying of the mines is seen as part of an effort by North Korea to fortify the border after Kim Jong Un abandoned Pyongyang’s longstanding goal of reunification with South Korea and adopted the “two hostile states” policy.
The South Korean military submitted the data to the National Assembly, and lawmakers serving on the parliamentary intelligence and defence committees disclosed it to the state news agency Yonhap.
The military said the landmines have been installed since 2024 along the Demilitarised Zone, the heavily guarded buffer area separating the two countries. They are in addition to an estimated two million landmines already buried across the DMZ, including by South Korean forces, according to independent experts.
The data was released the same day South Korea's defence ministry renewed its push for military talks with North Korea to clarify the exact location of their border and reduce the risk of an accidental clash.
“Our ministry of national defence officially proposes to North Korean authorities that South-North military talks be held to mutually confirm the exact location of the ground military demarcation line between the South and the North, discuss the restoration of military communication lines, and discuss measures to prevent accidental clashes in border areas,” deputy minister for national defence policy Kim Hong Cheol said in a televised statement.
He said Seoul was also open to three-way talks involving the US-led United Nations Command.
South Korea made a similar proposal in November, but received no response from Pyongyang. Seoul has since stepped up efforts to ease tensions following a series of incidents along the border.
South Korea’s military said North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line around 50 times this year while carrying out fortification work, prompting its forces to broadcast warnings and fire shots.
Tensions escalated after a landmine explosion on 21 September injured three South Korean soldiers.
A joint onsite investigation by South Korea’s military and the United Nations Command identified an active North Korean anti-personnel mine on the southern side of the line.
Seoul subsequently “strongly urged North Korea to apologise and take responsible measures”.
Mr Kim’s sister, a senior member of the government, rejected the findings as a “farce” and accused the South Korean military of fabricating the investigation results to justify what she described as political and military provocations against Pyongyang.
Kim Yo Jong then visited frontline areas where North Korean troops were reinforcing the border, and renewed a threat to retaliate against any South Korean provocation aimed at the fortification work.
South Korea’s military has reported increased activity by North Korean troops along the demarcation line, including the installation of barbed-wire fences, landmines, and anti-tank barriers.
Mr Kim has taken an increasingly hardline stance towards Seoul, suspending virtually all dialogue and cooperation in recent years.
Pyongyang said earlier this week it planned to activate border loudspeakers for anti-Seoul propaganda broadcasts, a psychological warfare tactic long used by both sides, and placed unspecified “new counter means” on alert.
However, Kim Hong Cheol, the South Korean military official, said leaving the dispute over the military demarcation line unresolved would increase the risk of accidental clashes.
This is because troops from both sides act on their own understanding of the line.
“The recent increase in North Korean activities along the military demarcation line, as well as our warning broadcasts and warning shots, is also related to this situation,” he said.
In December 2023, North Korea declared inter-Korean relations to be those between “two hostile states”, abandoning its longstanding goals of reconciliation and reunification.
The shift was reinforced in January 2024, when Mr Kim called for constitutional changes formally defining South Korea as the country's “principal enemy”.
Read MoreThe stark threat Kim Jong Un’s sister made while visiting South Korea’s border
Trapped shark returns to South Korean canal hours after rescue attempt
