‘Unidentified explosion’ in DMZ injures 3 South Korean military personnel

Three South Korean military personnel were injured Monday in an “unidentified explosion” while operating inside the western sector of the Demilitarized Zone, according to the country’s military.

Two of the injured personnel were airlifted by emergency medical helicopter to the Korean Armed Forces Capital Hospital near Seoul, where they were receiving treatment, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said in a text message to reporters that afternoon.

The third injured person and other personnel involved in the operation were also taken to the hospital for medical examinations, the spokesman said.

Some South Korean government spokespeople must speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

The military is investigating the explosion and has not identified its cause or released details about the condition of those injured.

It also remains unclear whether the blast had any connection to North Korea.

Yonhap News Agency reported that a landmine was suspected of detonating during a search operation by the South Korean army’s 25th Infantry Division, a frontline unit responsible for part of the western border. The report did not identify the source of that information.

South Korean officials warned in July that heavy monsoon rains could wash landmines from areas near the inter-Korean border into South Korea.

Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Capt. Jang Do-young said during a July 23 briefing that there was a “high possibility” landmines dislodged by flooding could enter the South.

The warning did not establish any connection between such mines and Monday’s explosion.

A South Korean noncommissioned officer was injured in an explosion in the western DMZ in November. The Defense Ministry did not publicly identify the cause of that blast.

The DMZ is a heavily fortified buffer zone roughly 160 miles long separating the two Koreas.

U.S. Forces Korea spokespeople Kim Eun-chong and Choi Min-jung did not immediately respond Monday to an email asking whether the explosion affected U.S. operations in the DMZ.

United Nations Command spokeswoman Choi Min-jung said in an email Monday that the command is aware of the incident but cannot comment on the matter while it remains under investigation.