Our top story this afternoon...
South Korea's defense ministry says North Korea was responsible for a landmine explosion at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone last week that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers..
For the details, we have Kim Hyun-bin standing by at the defense ministry in Seoul.
Hyun-bin?


Mark. The defense ministry said an hour and a half ago that North Korea was behind the mine blasts.
The ministry says that it recovered some debris from the mines after a thorough survey of the site,...
and they've concluded that the debris is from a PMD series mine.
This is identical to the kinds of landmines typically used by Pyongyang.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned North Korea for its actions, calling it a violation of the armistice agreement,... and he emphasized that South Korea will make the North pay for its actions.
Let's hear what they have to say.


"These acts by Pyongyang violate the armistice agreement and the non-aggression pact. We urge North Korea to apologize for its provocations and punish those involved. As we have previously warned, we will make Pyongyang pay dearly for its provocations."

The United Nations Command has also condemned North Korea for the incident and proposed a generals meeting with North Korea.
The explosions took place on the southern side of the DMZ near the city of Paju, Gyeonggi-do province, last Tuesday morning as the two sergeants were carrying out a regular scouting mission there.
The explosion nearly severed the soldiers' legs and they were rushed to a military hospital for treatment.
The heavily forested military buffer between the two Koreas is loaded with landmines and the military secures safe routes in the DMZ to conduct search operations there.
That's all I have for now. I'll have more updates in a later newscast.v
I'm Kim Hyun-bin, reporting live from the defense ministry.
Back to you, Mark.