Seoul (AFP) – Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has called the "kind of apology" demanded by Seoul "pathetic" after an explosion in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which seriously injured three of its soldiers.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 12:48

South Korea "went so far as to speak of a sort of 'apology'," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement. “They are absolutely pathetic,” added the younger sister of the North Korean leader, considered one of the regime's heavyweights.

The two Koreas are still technically at war, the 1950-1953 conflict having ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty.

Three South Korean soldiers were seriously injured and one lost a foot in the explosion on September 21 in the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Although the DMZ is officially demilitarized, it is among the most mined places in the world and mine explosions have already caused friction between the two Koreas.

It is estimated that more than 800,000 mines infest this four-kilometer-wide buffer zone which has divided the peninsula by nearly 250 km since 1953.

North Korea denied earlier this week that it was behind the incident. A few hours later, the South Korean army demanded an official apology from Pyongyang, denouncing a “blatant violation of the armistice agreement”.

But the next day, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, considered favorable to dialogue, called on Pyongyang to renew contact.

“Prank Summit”

“My administration will continue to take concrete steps to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas,” he assured.

Kim Yo Jong derided the comments, calling them "the pinnacle of farce that everyone should watch."

The People's Power Party (PPP), South Korea's main opposition, criticized Lee after these statements.

“South Korean soldiers were injured and, far from receiving an apology, we were ridiculed by North Korea,” the PPP said in a statement.

This new rise in tensions comes as recent overtures from US President Donald Trump towards Pyongyang raise fears that Seoul, Washington's ally, will be kept out of possible negotiations on North Korean nuclear power.

Last month, Lee said Washington should seek a freeze on North Korea's nuclear program, rather than its immediate dismantling, and offer sanctions relief in exchange.

“For the moment, North Korea derives significant income from its deliveries of military equipment to Russia and uses it to maintain a balance with China. It therefore has little interest in normalizing its relations with Japan, South Korea or even the United States,” Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

"But the war will end one day. Profits from arms exports to Russia will decline, and North Korea's diplomatic tone may also change," he added.

After a period of relaxation following the conclusion of an inter-Korean military agreement in 2018, relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply again since 2022.

Kim Jong Un, who has strengthened his cooperation with Russia and increased testing of increasingly sophisticated weapons, has since made the border with the South even more hermetic and described it as the "main enemy".

In 2015, two South Korean soldiers were seriously injured by a mine explosion on the southern side of the DMZ, one of them losing both legs. Seoul had concluded that North Korean troops had crossed the military demarcation line to lay the mines, an accusation Pyongyang had denied.

This affair had pushed South Korea to resume broadcasting messages hostile to the Pyongyang regime via loudspeakers along the border.

© 2026 AFP

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