{
  "id": 16132673,
  "title": "N. Korea likely planted 960,000 land mines along inter-Korean border since 2024: lawmakers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/n-korea-likely-planted-960-000-land-mines-along-inter-korean-border-16132673",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-23T01:07:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20261023/n-korea-likely-planted-960000-land-mines-along-inter-korean-border-since-2024-lawmakers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korean lawmakers have informed the National Assembly that North Korea likely buried approximately 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to recent reports. This development is viewed as part of North Korea's strategy to fortify its border following the declaration of a hostile stance towards South Korea by Pyongyang in late 2023. Military officials from the South have shared this estimate with lawmakers belonging to the parliamentary intelligence and defense committees through the Yonhap News Agency. Since April of that year, North Korea has intensified its border fortifications, with the military detecting a surge in activities such as the installation of barbed-wire fences, laying of land mines, and erection of anti-tank barriers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), which lies inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Korean forces have been observed moving near or crossing the MDL on multiple occasions, leading to South Korean military responses like warning broadcasts or firing warning shots as per standard operating procedures.",
  "summary": "North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to multiple lawmakers Friday, a move seen as part of its border fortification work after Pyongyang declared a \"two hostile states\" policy toward Seoul. The South Korean military has reported the estimate to the National Assembly, lawmakers affiliated with the parliamentary intelligence and…",
  "key_points": [
    "North Korea buried about 960,000 land mines along the border since 2024.",
    "South Korea's lawmakers informed the National Assembly about the mine count.",
    "Border fortifications increased after North Korea's hostile stance declaration."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The massive scale of recent land mine installations signals a permanent shift toward physical fortification as North Korea formalizes its hostile stance against the South.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "N. Korea likely planted 960,000 land mines along inter-Korean border since 2024: lawmakers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/n-korea-likely-planted-960-000-land-mines-along-inter-korean-border",
        "published": "2026-10-23T00:24:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}