Flood Waters Drop Nork Land Mines in South Korea

In South Korea, if you go down to the beach today you may be in for a very nasty surprise.

Dozens of North Korean land mines loosened by heavy rains have washed ashore on South Korean riverbanks and beaches near the border, presenting a lethal new threat to residents already wary of surprises and nefarious motives from the North.

A man in the South Korean border town of Yeoncheon, northeast of Seoul, was killed Saturday when one of two land mines he had picked up from a stream exploded, the Defense Ministry said. A friend was seriously injured and hospitalized.

The scare came amid heightened vigilance against North Korea, following the March sinking of a South Korean warship in border waters that was widely thought to be caused by a North Korean torpedo attack. On Sunday, South Korea sent a message urging North Korea to prevent its land mines from washing downstream to the South, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The authorities also distributed pamphlets, which carried photos of the North Korean mines, warning people living near the border not to touch objects that look like the land mines.

In towns and islands downstream from North Korea, officials using megaphones urged villagers and vacationers to stay off the streams and beaches.

Soldiers with minesweepers were searching river beds where the floods have retreated. Since Friday, they have found 35 land mines. The mines, built in wooden boxes, were designed to explode when pressed or opened.

“The mines were apparently swept down from North Korea after torrential rains,” said an official from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing his office’s policy. He said that the safety pins of some recovered mines were not removed, indicating that they had been in storage when they were swept away.

By: Shelldrake