Person

Kim Hong-cheol

1. South Korea proposes military talks with North Korea on the demarcation line; Seoul estimates the North has laid about 960,000 mines in the DMZ since 2024

   Kim Hong-cheol, South Korea's deputy defence minister for policy, said on Friday, Oct 23, that Seoul proposed military talks with Pyongyang to confirm the location of the Military Demarcation Line, restore military communication lines and discuss preventing accidental border clashes, with the UN Command able to join three-way talks if needed. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in a DMZ landmine blast last month. South Korean military officials told the National Assembly that North Korea is estimated to have laid about 960,000 mines in and around the DMZ since starting its 'border fortification' project in 2024, without giving locations or the basis for the estimate; since April 2024 the North has also cleared vegetation, built walls and barbed-wire fences, and cut the Gyeongui and Donghae road and rail links.

   Oct 24, 2026 Morning