SEOUL, Aug. 13 (UPI) — South Korea’s parliament passed a resolution that strongly condemned North Korea for the recent land mine explosion that injured two South Korean soldiers inside the demilitarized zone, calling the incident a “military provocation.”
The formal opinion of Seoul’s National Assembly passed with 219 of 221 lawmakers voting in support of the resolution on Thursday, Yonhap reported.
The resolution stated North Korea deliberately buried land mines south of the Military Demarcation Line that bisects the DMZ, and the explosion that caused serious injuries to two South Korean soldiers was clearly a “military provocation,” South Korean outlet Newsis reported.
The impact of the explosion last week resulted in serious injuries for two guards, identified as 23-year-old Kim Jeong-won and his colleague with the surname Ha. Ha lost both legs, and Kim lost his right ankle when he stepped on the land mine while attempting to rescue his colleague.
The National Assembly said in a statement that North Korea is entirely responsible for recurring military provocations and Pyongyang’s acts are cornering North-South relations into another military confrontation that is threatening the peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula.
The parliamentary resolution stated the recent incident was an outright violation of the 1953 Armistice Agreement and the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, which referred to a declaration of peace signed by Seoul and Pyongyang more than a decade ago.
Seoul said it would reveal the truth of the most recent provocation and said that South Korea would pursue a North Korean apology for the act and the punishment of those responsible.
The resolution also stated North Korea is expected to face additional pressure and isolation from the international community.
Pyongyang has not accepted responsibility for the DMZ land mine incident.
