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N. Korea denies role in mine blasts that maimed 2 S. Koreans
North Korea denied Friday that it had planted land mines that injured two South Korean soldiers last week and prompted Seoul to restart propaganda broadcasts across the border for the first time in 11 years
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orth Korea denied Friday that it had planted land mines that injured two South Korean soldiers last week and prompted Seoul to restart propaganda broadcasts across the border for the first time in 11 years.
North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission said it "makes no sense" that it buried mines on the southern side of the border because it only uses such devices for defense on its side, not on an enemy's side. The statement was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Investigations by Seoul and the U.S.-led U.N. Command blamed Pyongyang for the mines that exploded when soldiers were on a routine patrol near a wire fence in the southern side of the border. One of the soldiers lost both legs while the other lost one leg.
Officials said the mine planting violates the armistice that ended the Korean War.
In its first remarks on the land mines, North Korea argued that South Korea fabricated evidences to put the blame on the North. It said mine blasts are common in the demilitarized zone near the border of the two countries after torrential rain and the latest explosion could also be from the mines that were swept away from the southern side.
The North's commission asked Seoul to submit video evidence to support its argument that Pyongyang was responsible.(+++)
