Fence Collapse and Landmine Discovery... Military on High Alert Due to Heavy Rain

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The front-line military units in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Korean Peninsula have been put on alert due to continuous heavy rains. More than 7 km of front-line fences have been washed away, and anti-personnel mines have been discovered, maintaining a high level of tension.

According to the military on the 10th, about 7 km of fences and approximately 100 locations in the front-line military unit areas near the inter-Korean border have been damaged. As of this date, damage has been reported at more than 200 sites including military fences, barriers, and retaining walls. About 600 soldiers from 10 units in flood-risk areas have been evacuated to safer locations. Some fences have tilted several meters to over 10 meters.

Anti-personnel mines have also been found. Three anti-personnel mines were collected in Cheorwon and Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. These mines are used by our military and are presumed to have been washed away from unidentified minefields due to the heavy rains or were planted during the Korean War. The military has deployed about 300 personnel to six locations including Cheorwon to conduct mine detection operations for civilian safety. Searches are being conducted mainly along riverbeds, stream banks, and villages where flooding has receded.

The military is also preparing for the possibility that mines from North Korean areas may be washed down, as heavy rains continue there. Military authorities estimate that the minefield area in the southern side of the DMZ Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and both the northern and southern sides of the Civilian Control Line (CCL) is about 40 times the size of Yeouido. This area contains not only wooden box mines but also M-14 and M-16 anti-personnel mines, and M-15 anti-tank mines, with an estimated total of 2 million mines. In particular, wooden box mines are non-metallic mines, making detection virtually impossible even if buried only 5 to 10 cm underground.