Chief director of operations of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Kang Hyunwoo said at a press briefing on Sept. 30 that a Sept. 21 mine blast in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea was caused by North Korean mines planted south of the military demarcation line, demanding North Korea halt these activities and apologize. Meanwhile, the U.N. Command that oversees the seven-decade-old inter-Korean armistice on Sept. 30 declared North Korea's planting of mines south of the demarcation line a violation of the armistice.