In the middle of beach season, North Korean land mines are washing ashore
The mines, with a wooden box casing, are believed to have become dislodged as torrential rains pounded territory in the North.
Military officials search for wooden-box land mines at Dongmak Beach in Ganghwa County, Incheon, in this undated photo.
ROK MARINE CORPS
North Korean land mines, including live explosive devices, have repeatedly been found washed ashore along Incheon's coast, raising safety concerns for summer beachgoers and local residents.
Ganghwa County officials said Friday that a fisherman reported a suspicious object floating in the water near a boat landing at Hwangcheon Port on July 27. Military authorities who responded to the scene found and recovered three wooden boxes that usually contain land mines floating in the water. One turned out to be an empty case, but the other two were confirmed as capable of exploding. The military safely detonated them on-site.
The land mines are antipersonnel explosives with pine wood casing rather than metal that contain an explosive charge and a detonator triggered when pressure is applied to the lid.
Another land mine was discovered on July 24 along the coast of Seodo-myeon. The same day, a land mine that had drifted in by sea was seen in a military unit's CCTV footage along the coast of Gyodong-myeon.
In total, 12 such land mines have been found across Ganghwa County between July 24 and Thursday.
Ganghwa County and military authorities believe the mines were dislodged from areas in North Korea by torrential rains last month and carried to Ganghwa Island's coastline by ocean currents.
With coastal tourist traffic rising during the summer vacation season, authorities are stepping up safety measures amid concerns that more land mines could wash ashore.
The Marine Corps 2nd Division has launched a search operation for stray land mines and other hazardous objects across Ganghwa Island and its western islands, including major beaches and coastal areas. The military plans to conduct intensive day and night searches at ports, harbors and other areas with a high risk of land mines drifting, including sites open to civilians, coastlines and beaches.
Ganghwa County has installed warning banners at 42 locations across the county's coastal tourist sites and ports, and is broadcasting safety announcements to residents and tourists through village public address systems.
"As land mines continue to be found, we ask tourists and residents visiting coastal tourist sites to never approach or touch any suspicious object and to report it immediately," a Ganghwa County official said. "We will do our best to work with military authorities to create a safe tourism environment."
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
