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south Korea

Republic of Korea

Ten-Year Summary

The Republic of Korea (ROK)—South Korea—has insisted on the military necessity of antipersonnel mines, while acknowledging the negative humanitarian consequences. South Korea has consistently abstained from voting on the annual UN General Assembly resolution calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. South Korea began producing remotely-delivered, self-destructing antipersonnel mines in 2006. It has maintained an indefinite moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines since 1997. In May 2006, South Korea revealed that it had a stockpile of 407,800 antipersonnel mines, but in 2009 said the figure is classified.

Demining has remained exclusively in the hands of the army which committed substantial numbers of personnel but limited funds to mine action and made limited headway clearing the main areas of contamination. Mines are estimated to affect some 32km2, especially in the heavily affected Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ).

Landmine Monitor has identified 63 mine casualties between 1999 and 2008 (six killed and 57 injured). South Korea had very limited risk education activities during this period. There have not been any specific services for mine/ERW survivors during this 10-year period but medical and rehabilitative care is of good quality, and all citizens are covered through the national health insurance system. Government compensation is also available, but only seven claimants have been successful since 2002.

Mine Ban Policy

South Korea has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has never sent observers to the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, but has attended intersessional meetings sporadically, as well as some regional landmine meetings. It did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2009.

On 2 December 2008, South Korea abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 63/42 calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it has in previous years. South Korea accompanied this vote with a statement that “due to the unique security situation on the Korean Peninsula, we are compelled to give priority to our security concerns, and unable to accede to the Convention at this point.”[1]

South Korea is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. South Korea submitted its annual report required by Article 13 of Amended Protocol II.[2] South Korea adhered to Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) on 23 January 2008, becoming a State Party to the protocol on 23 July 2008. South Korea has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[3]

Use, production, and transfer

South Korea told Landmine Monitor that it did not engage in any new use of antipersonnel mines during 2008.[4] It also said that there was no production, export, or importation of antipersonnel mines in 2008.[5] In 2007, a private company, the Hanwha Corporation, produced about 10,000 self-destructing antipersonnel mines, as well as an unknown number of Claymore directional fragmentation mines.[6]

South Korea has produced two types of Claymore mines, designated KM18A1 and K440. South Korean officials have stated that the country only produces the devices in command-detonated mode, which is lawful under the Mine Ban Treaty, and not with tripwires, which are prohibited.[7]

In 2008, South Korea stated that it has “faithfully enforced an indefinite extension of the moratorium on the export of AP [antipersonnel] mines since 1997, which does not include Claymore-type mines.”[8]

In June 2009, South Korea told Landmine Monitor, “The government-led R&D program on the development of ‘remotely-controlled mine’ which will replace anti-personnel mines is underway. The newly developed mines will meet the requirements set out in the Amended Protocol II to the CCW.”[9]

According to one report, the Korean military is planning to deploy remote-controlled “Spider bombs” along the DMZ by 2013.[10] Bids have been solicited for development of the weapon, apparently a copy of the US XM-7 Spider Networked Munitions System.[11] As developed by the United States, the Spider system initially had a “battlefield override switch” that, in addition to remote detonation, would allow the device to function in a victim-activated mode, making it incompatible with the Mine Ban Treaty. After criticism from the US Congress, this feature was dropped. It is not known whether South Korea’s version will have such a feature.

Stockpiling

In 2009, South Korea told Landmine Monitor that the size of its stockpile is classified.[12] However, in response to annual questionnaires from Landmine Monitor from 2006 to 2008, South Korea said its stockpile consisted of 407,800 antipersonnel mines.[13] Previously, the government stated that it held a stockpile of about two million antipersonnel mines.[14]

For many years, the US military has stockpiled about 1.1 million M14 and M16 non-self-destructing antipersonnel mines for use in any future war in Korea.[15] The US military also keeps in South Korea a substantial number of self-destructing, scatterable antipersonnel mines. In 2005, the South Korean government reported that the US held 40,000 GATOR, 10,000 VOLCANO, and an unknown number of MOPMS mines.[16]

Most of the US mines in South Korea have been part of the more extensive War Reserve Stocks for Allies, Korea (WRSA-K). The WRSA-K consisted of munitions stored in South Korea but kept under US title and control, which would be made available to US and South Korean forces in case of an emergency. On 30 December 2005, US President George W. Bush signed Public Law 109-159, authorizing the sale of items in the WRSA-K to South Korea during a three-year period, after which the WRSA-K program would be terminated, which occurred at the end of 2008.[17]

In June 2008, the South Korean government told Landmine Monitor, “Landmines are excluded from the negotiations between the ROK and US” regarding sale or transfer of War Reserve Stocks.[18] In June 2009, the South Korean government told Landmine Monitor, “AP mines were not included in the list of items for sale or transfer in the WRSA-K negotiations, and therefore, no AP-mines were bought or obtained.”[19]

It is not clear what has or will be done with the US antipersonnel mines from the WRSA-K. The law ending the program states that any items remaining in the WRSA-K at the time of termination “shall be removed, disposed of, or both by the Department of Defense.”[20] Moreover, US policy is to stop the use of non-self-destructing antipersonnel mines in South Korea in 2010.

But, according to one report, South Korea may still safeguard the antipersonnel mines for 10 years, without actually taking ownership of them. At an annual meeting between the South Korean Minister of National Defense and US Secretary of Defense in Washington, DC, on 17 October 2008, a memorandum was signed that, in addition to the stocks South Korea is acquiring from the US, would have South Korea store 89,000 tons (89 million kg) of weapons and ammunition for the US until 2018, including non-self-destructing landmines.[21]

Scope of the Problem

Contamination

The DMZ and the CCZ (which adjoins the southern boundary of the DMZ) remain among the most heavily mined areas in the world due to extensive mine-laying during the Korean War and in the 1960s, 1978, and 1988.[22]

South Korea reports that about one million mines are emplaced in 1,300 sites between the DMZ and the capital, Seoul; a level of contamination unchanged for several years.[23] South Korea had indicated in May 2006 that about 970,000 mines were emplaced in the southern part of the DMZ, about 30,000 mines in the CCZ, and about 8,000 mines in 25 military sites covering an area of some 3km2 in the northern parts of Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces, below the CCZ.[24] UXO, another legacy of the Korean War, is also present in many parts of the country, and an explosion in Gyeonggi-do province in November 2006 injured one man.[25]

South Korea informed Landmine Monitor that the 1,300 mined sites cover a total area of about 32km2,[26] unchanged from the previous year but substantially more than the 21.8km2 of confirmed minefields reported by the Ministry of National Defense in 2003.[27] At that time, the ministry also reported unconfirmed minefields covering an additional 90.7km2. The South Korean army defines unconfirmed minefields as areas that are suspected to be mined, but for which there are no maps or other reliable information; it marks them with “Unconfirmed Minefield Danger” signs.[28]

Casualties

In 2008, Landmine Monitor identified two men injured by landmines. On 25 January, a civilian was injured on the island of Gangwha[29] and in October, a South Korean soldier was injured in the DMZ.[30]

Casualties continued to occur in 2009, when an adult man was killed due to an antipersonnel mine explosion on 25 April. He was reportedly in a minefield in the CCZ, just below the DMZ.[31]

The number of mine/ERW casualties is unknown but the Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance stated in March 2009 that there are at least 500 civilian survivors.[32] In 2007, the media reported that there were at least 1,000 civilian casualties and the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines (KCBL) estimated there were 2,000 to 3,000 military casualties.[33] Landmine Monitor identified 63 mine casualties between 1999 and 2008 (six killed and 57 injured). At least 20 casualties were military personnel, including one American soldier injured in 2001.[34] Figures are likely incomplete as there is no comprehensive official data on mine casualties in South Korea.[35] The Ministry of National Defense only records military mine/ERW incidents.[36] Civilian casualties are identified mainly through the media.

Program Management and Coordination

South Korea does not have a civilian mine action program. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (MIHWAF) is the lead ministry responsible for persons with disabilities.[37] In 2008, the MIHWAF initiated a five-year plan to implement a comprehensive set of disability policies.[38]

Demining

South Korea has undertaken limited demining in the DMZ and CCZ but has concentrated most effort on demining military bases in rear areas. Clearance operations are conducted by the South Korean army.[39]

In its latest CCW Article 13 report for the period 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008, South Korea stated that demining by 53,000 troops covered 169km2 and cleared 2,249 landmines.[40] Separately, South Korea told Landmine Monitor that demining operations in 2008 involved 38,000 troops and resulted in clearance of 104,000m2 and removal of 1,470 mines, substantially less than in the two previous years (see table below). It also said that it spent KRW980 million (US$891,955) in 2008, close to double the amount in 2007. South Korea said it planned to clear six sites covering about 170,000m2 in 2009.[41]

South Korea’s 2007 Article 13 report stated that demining work was underway on 14 “military bases or sites,” including three unconfirmed minefields, and that the work would be completed by 2009.[42] Its 2008 Article 13 report stated that mine clearance work was “currently in progress [on] 7 unconfirmed minefields. The work would be completed by 2009.”[43]

Mine clearance in South Korea[44]

 

2008

2007

2006

Area (m2)

104,000

169,000

229,000

Mines cleared

1,470

2,300

7,800

Work on a 5.6km-long railway link below the DMZ (from Shintan-ri Station in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi-do province, to Daema-ri in Cheorwon county, Gangwon-do province) began in September 2008 as part of plans to reopen an inter-Korean railway. About 13% of the link had been completed by February 2009 when media reports said work had involved clearance of three antipersonnel mines, four antivehicle mines, and one unexploded bomb.[45]

The government says there are no civilian demining companies in South Korea but that it is drafting legislation that will allow private companies to engage in mine clearance operations on private land.[46] Press reports in 2008 cited the Ministry of National Defense as saying the legislation would be passed in September 2008,[47] while in March 2009 private sector sources said the bill would be introduced to parliament in June 2009.[48] In the meantime, unofficial reports say land speculators are buying mine-contaminated land inside the CCZ, having the land cleared, and selling it for a profit.[49]

However, a private mine clearance research group, the Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, said that it conducted mine clearance operations at Dutayon, Yanggu-kun, Gangwon-do (a site inside the CCZ) between 14 March and 2 April 2008, clearing three antipersonnel mines, three antivehicle mines, and 12 ERW. The institute also said it conducted demining operations at Baekhak-myon, Yonchon-kun, and Gyeonggi-do on 10–20 April 2008, covering some 12,000m2 and clearing two antipersonnel mines, 12 “illumination mines,” and seven antivehicle mines. The institute said it employed a clearance machine, the “Dove System,” which it had developed as more suitable to the Korean environment than foreign mine clearance machines.[50]

Mechem deployed two MV-4 mini-flails and five mine detection dog teams to South Korea in March 2008 as subcontractor to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Inc. (EODT), a US-based commercial company active in Afghanistan.[51] EODT engaged Mechem on a US Corps of Engineers contract at Camp Casey but, as a result of contractual issues between EODT and the Corps of Engineers, the contract was terminated after four months—before Mechem’s assets became operational.[52]

Risk Education

Since 2003, the government has reported providing mine/ERW risk education (RE).[53] In June 2009, it stated that “the military holds meetings with local people to provide specific information on landmines.”[54] It provides two types of RE: one for the armed forces and the other for civilians, mainly as community liaison prior to clearance.[55] In its latest CCW Article 13 report, South Korea indicated that there had been no changes to the way landmine information was disseminated.[56] South Korean NGOs dispute the government’s description of RE activities, which are believed to be limited to the placement of mine warning signs in the CCZ and displaying models of mines at the entrance gates to the CCZ.[57]

In 2001, the KCBL provided RE information to children in primary schools close to the DMZ, and in 2004 the Chungaram Media Publishing Company published “Not Mines, But Flowers,” a Korean translation of a Japanese RE book for children.[58]

Victim Assistance

The number of survivors is unknown, but civilian survivors are estimated to number at least 500.[59]

Compared to other developed countries, the government of South Korea provides good quality healthcare services to its citizens.[60] Soldiers injured on duty receive free medical services and a monthly pension that depends on the degree of disability—estimated, for example, to be KRW1,040,000 ($947) for a partial limb amputation.[61] Civilian mine survivors, like all Korean citizens, are covered by the national health insurance system.[62] In 2008, the MIHWAF “established a task force to introduce a long-term medical care system and opened a national rehabilitation research center to increase opportunities and access for persons with disabilities.”[63]

Civilian mine survivors can apply for government compensation through the Ministry of National Defense Special Compensation Commission (SCC) and under the State Compensation Act, but just seven claims have been successful.[64] In 2008, one new claim was filed with the SCC and one claim was settled successfully with KRW200 million ($182,032) awarded to a survivor and the survivor’s family.[65] A draft Special Act for Compensation of Mine Victims submitted to the National Assembly in November 2003 by the KCBL remained pending as of April 2009, as did a draft provincial law to assist landmine survivors and families of deceased casualties in Gangwon-do province.[66]

In April 2008, the Anti-Discrimination Against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act took effect. This act adopted a comprehensive definition of discrimination and it established penalties for deliberate discrimination of up to three years in prison and KRW30 million ($27,305) in fines.[67] In early 2009, following media coverage of disability discrimination, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea issued a number of key decisions on opportunities in higher education and access to commercial buildings to protect the rights of disabled persons.[68]

On 11 December 2008, South Korea ratified the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but not its Optional Protocol.

Support for Mine Action

South Korea did not report international funding for mine action in 2008.


[1] Statement by Youn Jong Kwon, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 63rd UN General Assembly meeting, New York, 29 October 2008.

[2] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, 30 October 2008. The report consists only of a cover sheet with mine clearance information and references to visits by Colombia and Prince Mired Raad Zeid al-Hussein of Jordan.

[3] For details on cluster munition policy and practice see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice, Mines Action Canada, May 2009, p. 217.

[4] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[5] Ibid.

[6] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 876.

[7] Interview with Younghyo Park, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in Geneva, and Com. Kim, Ministry of National Defense, Geneva, 16 November 2006; and response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 16 April 2007.

[8] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 16 June 2008.

[9] Ibid, 9 June 2009.

[10] “S Korea to Deploy Remote-Controlled Mines: Official,” Agence France-Presse, 26 January 2009.

[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 1,011–1,012 for details on the US Spider system.

[12] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[13] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 958; Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 868–869; and Landmine Monitor Report 2008, pp. 876–877.

[14] In May 2005, South Korea stated that “there are about twice as many landmines in stockpile as those that are buried,” and the government estimated one million buried mines. Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 25 May 2005. Landmine Monitor reported that the stockpile includes 960,000 M14 mines that were made detectable before July 1999 in order to comply with CCW Amended Protocol II, and that South Korea also holds unknown numbers of self-destructing mines, including, apparently, more than 31,000 US ADAM artillery-delivered mines. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 544.

[15] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 333. While US Army documents indicate that about half of those mines are stored in the continental US, the South Korean government has said the entire stock is located in South Korea. Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 25 May 2005. In its subsequent responses, the government indicated that information on US stocks is classified.

[16] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 25 May 2005.

[17] Public Law 109–159, An Act to authorize the transfer of items in the War Reserve Stockpile for Allies, Korea, December 30, 2005, p.119, stat. 2955–2956.

[18] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 16 June 2008.

[19] Ibid, 9 June 2009.

[20] Public Law 109–159, Section 1 (c) (2).

[21] “Dispute on ROK-US WRSA Ammunition Agreement—Demand Renegotiation,” Tongil News, 18 December 2008; and “US Guarantees ‘Immediate Assistance’ in Case of Emergency on the Korean Peninsula,” Tongil News, 18 October 2008.

[22] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,022.

[23] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009. The number of emplaced mines is unknown; some sources have estimated there are two million mines in the DMZ. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 682.

[24] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 May 2006. South Korea refers to the CCZ as the Military Control Zone.

[25] Ibid, 16 June 2008.

[26] Ibid, 9 June 2009 and 16 April 2007.

[27] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,022.

[28] Ibid.

[29] “Tourist Injured in Suspected Landmine Explosion,” The Chosun Ilbo, 29 January 2008, english.chosun.com; and response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[30] Telephone interview with Kim Ki-Ho, Executive Director, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, Seoul, 19 March 2009.

[31] KCBL, www.kcbl.or.kr.

[32] Emails from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 and 23 March 2009.

[33] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 879.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 879.

[37] MIHWAF, “About MIHWAF: Organization Chart,” english.mw.go.kr.

[38] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Republic of Korea,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[39] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 776.

[40] Article 13 Report, Form B, 30 October 2008.

[41] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[42] Article 13 Report, Form B, 18 October 2007.

[43] Ibid, 30 October 2008.

[44] Responses to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 16 April 2007, 16 June 2008, and 9 June 2009.

[45] “Inter-Korean Rail Project Proceeds Despite Tension,” English Donga Daily, 19 February 2009, english.donga.com.

[46] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 16 June 2008.

[47] Park Si-soo, “Private companies to remove landmines,” The Korea Times, 21 March 2008, www.koreatimes.co.kr.

[48] Email from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 March 2009.

[49] Norimitsu Onishi, “For sale: undeveloped Korean land. DMZ views,” New York Times, 5 October 2007, www.nytimes.com.

[50] Email from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 March 2009.

[51] EODT, www.eodt.com.

[52] Email from Ashley Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Mechem, 12 June 2009.

[53] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,024.

[54] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[55] Ibid.

[56] Article 13 Report, Form A, 30 October 2008.

[57] Email from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 March 2009; and see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,024.

[58] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1,024.

[59] Emails from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 and 23 March 2009.

[60] World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific, “Country Health Information Profiles: Republic of Korea,” Manila, 2008, www.wpro.who.int.

[61] Email from Kim Ki-Ho, Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance, 22 March 2009.

[62] WHO, “Country Health Information Profiles: Republic of Korea,” Manila, 2008, www.wpro.who.int.

[63] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Republic of Korea,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[64] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 624; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 778; Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 961; Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 879; and response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[65] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by the Permanent Mission of the ROK to the UN in New York, 9 June 2009.

[66] Email from Un Young Moon, Staff Member, KCBL, 2 April 2009.

[67] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Republic of Korea,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009.

[68] Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, “South Korea: Steps taken to protect rights of people with disabilities,” 12 March 2009, www.asiapacificforum.net.