Was defense minister mistaken about N. Korean mine attack or influenced by president`s office?

Was defense minister mistaken about N. Korean mine attack or influenced by president`s office?. August. 14, 2015 07:13. .

When South Korean Army Staff Sergeant Ha was hung on barbed wires after a land mine explosion blew him during his search mission at the demilitarized zone on Tuesday morning, he cried, "Commies!" Sergeant First Class Jeong Gyo-seong, who led the search operation team, immediately shouted, "Enemy bombs falling!" He initially thought the team was being under bombing attack, without knowing that it was a North Korean land mine that exploded. Still, the troops instantly knew that they were under North Korean military`s attack. Still, presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of National Defense had arguments over whether reports were made indicating the North was behind the attack.

On Wednesday morning, South Korea`s Defense Minister Han Min-koo told the National Assembly that the South Korean military confirmed on August 4 the explosions were North Korea`s provocation by wooden-box mines and reported so to Cheong Wa Dae. In the afternoon, however, he changed his words, explaining that the ministry reported the incident to Cheong Wa Dae via the National Security Office on August 4, before reporting to President Park Geun-hye that the explosives were presumed to be North Korean land mines. The defense ministry said that the minister "seems to have simply made a mistake just by depending on his memories." However, it is unconvincing that the defense chief made such a mistake at a time when there are controversies over whether he was aware of North Korea`s provocation when the president was present at a ground-breaking ceremony for a railway project restoring the Gyeongwon Line, which once ran from central Seoul to North Korea`s eastern city of Wonsan.

On Wednesday afternoon, the president`s office said that Han`s remarks were "not true" and that the president had been briefed on the provocation four times – first at around 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday about two soldiers injured by unidentified explosives during a search mission, followed by another report by National Security Office Chief Kim Kwan-jin about the presumed North Korean land mines on Wednesday afternoon. Therefore, the president attended the Gyeongwon Line ceremony without knowing about the North Korean provocation, Cheong Wa Dae argued. It is suspected that the defense minister changed his remarks in accordance with such explanations by Cheong Wa Dae.

The defense minister failed to report directly to President Park. He reported the situation to the National Security Office chief, who then reports to the president. The fact that the Kim Jong Un regime`s first provocation was not directly reported to the president indicates that there are serious problems in the national security team`s communication. The reporting system for the president became a major issue at the times of the Sewol ferry disaster and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. However, nothing has changed since.

Wooden-box mines are used by only North Korea. They were installed in the front and rear of the South Korean military`s frontline fence entrance. Considering the topography of the area, there was no possibility that the mines placed at other places ended up there. Despite the situation, what is the purpose of the National Security Office if it depends only on the defense ministry`s report? Cheong Wa Dae`s failure to realize the severity of the issue has aggravated the situation.