Key developments
since March 1999: In April 1999 the ROK began a multi-year program to
remove mines from around some military bases. The ROK reports that it has made
all of its non-self-destructing mines detectable. The ROK produced 1,363 new
antipersonnel mines in 1999.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Korea (ROK) has not signed the
1997 Mine Ban Treaty. While acknowledging the humanitarian consequences of
antipersonnel mines, the ROK is one of the governments that has been most vocal
in insisting on the legitimacy and military necessity of continued use of
antipersonnel landmines. South Korea was one of just ten governments to abstain
on UN General Assembly Resolution 51/45, passed 156-0 on 10 December 1996,
urging states to vigorously pursue an international agreement banning
antipersonnel landmines. ROK has also been among the few to abstain on the
pro-Mine Ban Treaty UNGA resolutions in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
The South Korean government told Landmine Monitor in March 2000 that it
“could consider joining the Ottawa Convention if the security situation on
the Korean Peninsula improved substantially, or if suitable alternatives to
antipersonnel landmines became available.... The ROK government agrees, in
principle and from the humanitarian point of view, with the movement to ban
completely the use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs). However, the ROK cannot
fully subscribe to the total ban on APLs.... [I]n a country under a constant
threat of war like Korea, the landmine issue is not a matter of humanitarianism,
but that of survival. Therefore, we cannot regard APLs issue the same way as
other countries do.”[1]
Asked if it would join the treaty if North Korea did so, the ROK replied,
“We will consider this issue
positively.”[2] South
Korea has sent representatives to many of the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional
work program Standing Committee of Experts meetings.
South Korea did not participate as an observer in the First Meeting of States
Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo in May 1999. It has attended the
treaty’s intersessional meetings on mine clearance, technologies, victim
assistance, and stockpile destruction.
While not yet a party to the CCW and amended Protocol II, South Korea has
expressed its intent to accede in
2000.[3] The government states
that it “is preparing national legislation necessary for the
implementation of the Protocol,” and that it “has made necessary
steps to meet the requirements concerning the use of mines set out in the
Protocol, including making dumb mines
detectable.”[4] The ROK
participated in the first Annual Conference for Protocol II States Parties in
December 1999.[5] South Korea is
a member of the Conference on Disarmament, and has expressed a willingness to
join efforts to negotiate an AP mine transfer ban in the
CD.[6]
Production
South Korea has produced at least two
antipersonnel mines, which are copies or variations of the U.S. M18A1 Claymore
mine. The Korean designations are KM18A1 and K440. Both are directional
fragmentation mines, the K440 slightly larger. They are usually used in a
command detonated mode, but can also be used with
tripwires.[7] According to the
ROK Ministry of National Defense, a total of 10,721 KM18A1s were produced from
1995-1997 and 1,363 in 1999, but “during the last three or four years, the
K440 was not
produced.”[8]
According to Jane’s Mines and Mine Clearance 1999-2000, South
Korea also produces a licensed copy of the U.S. M16A2 bounding antipersonnel
mine. The source lists the mine as “in production” and the
manufacturer is listed as the Korea Explosives Company Ltd.
Transfer
There is no evidence that the ROK government
exported antipersonnel mines in the past. On 28 September 1995, the government
announced a formal one-year moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines,
which was extended in 1996. In 1997, the government decided to extend the
moratorium for an indefinite
period.[9]
The ROK government states that it did not import any AP mines in
1999.[10] It imported 40,324 AP
mines from the United States from 1969 to 1992, including 31,572 ADAM mines
which are fired from artillery, 1,035 non-detectable M14 mines, and more than
7,000 Claymore mines.[11]
Stockpiling
The number and types of antipersonnel landmines in
the South Korean stockpile are military secrets. However, in a meeting with the
ICBL in February 1998, Vice Minister of Defense Lee Jung-Rin said that South
Korea has twice the amount of landmines in stock that it has already deployed in
the ground.[12] This would
imply that South Korea probably holds at least two million antipersonnel mines
in stock. The ROK states that it has already made its dumb
(non-self-destructing) mines detectable, as required under Amended Protocol
II.[13]
In addition, the U.S. is stockpiling in South Korea approximately 1.2 million
M14 and M16 dumb mines and some 50,000 Gator, Volcano, and MOPMS
“smart” (self-destructing) mines, all to be used in any future
resumption of war in
Korea.[14]
Use
Landmines were used extensively by all combatant
armies during the Korean War, and the U.S. and ROK have laid large numbers of
mines since then. A Defense Ministry report to the National Assembly in
September 1999 reportedly said that over 1.12 million mines were laid across the
country: 1.05 million antipersonnel and antitank mines “around the
civilian control line and the demilitarized zone,” and another 75,000
antipersonnel mines in “rear
areas.”[15] When asked by
Landmine Monitor, “How many landmines are buried in the ground in your
country,” the South Korean government responded that “an estimated
one million mines are buried in the
DMZ.”[16] This figure of
one million mines planted in the DMZ by U.S. and ROK forces has been cited by
others over the years. However, a report by a retired U.S. general states that
in addition to the DMZ, “about one million dumb AP mines already are
emplaced in the six-mile-deep military control zone immediately south of the
two-and-a-half-mile band of the
DMZ.”[17]
The ROK and U.S. military have also planted significant numbers of
antipersonnel mines around important military facilities in the South, some of
which have created problems in recent years (see
below).[18]
If there is war on the Korean peninsula, the U.S. is planning to lay more
than one million additional “dumb” mines in South Korea -- not in
the existing DMZ, but throughout the twenty mile area between the DMZ and Seoul.
In addition, numerous self-destructing mines would be scattered by aircraft and
artillery.[19]
Landmine Problem
As noted in a U.S. State Department report,
“The Republic of Korea still has a problem with landmines from World War
II and from the Korean Conflict.” The report says that uncleared mines are
located “along the inter-Korean border and in areas in which Korean War
battles occurred.”[20]
According to the ROK government, there were forty-seven mine accidents from
1992-1999.[21]
The 151-mile Demilitarized Zone may be the most heavily mined area in the
world. One South Korean legislator, a former army general, Mr. Im Bok-Jin warned
that the DMZ will likely remain a “belt of death” even after Korea
is reunified because of the huge number of difficult-to-detect buried mines. He
also stated that the mines were not adequately
mapped.[22]
In recent years, South Koreans have experienced problems due to flooding or
landslides from heavy rains that wash landmines out of minefields or storage
sites into areas frequented by civilians. In April 1999, the ROK Joint Chiefs of
Staff reportedly said that only fifty-nine out of 321 landmines washed away by
rainstorms in 1998 had been
recovered.[23] According to
Rep. Seo Chung-Won, since the 1980s a total of 1,430 mines have been washed away
from fifteen military bases and only ten percent have been
recovered.[24] In August 1999,
military authorities warned visitors to the North Han River region to be on the
lookout for mines spread around by recent rains and flooding; at least three
M-14 antipersonnel mines were retrieved in a civilian area in
Yonchon.[25]
Two other legislators of the National Assembly revealed in 1999 another
aspect of the landmine problem in South Korea. According to Rep. Kim Sang-Hyun
and Rep. Ahn Dong-Sung, only 570 of the 3,400 landmines buried to protect five
Army bases were removed when the units were relocated. The locations are
Uijongbu, Kachang, Kwangchun, Ahuhung, and
Hadong.[26]
The Korea Campaign to Ban Landmines (KCBL) has identified the following
landmine problem areas: Cholwon-kun, Eunhyun-myon, Koyang-city, Paengnyong-do,
Paju-city, Pyongtaek-city, Sangnam-city, Tongduchun-city, Uijungbu-city,
Yanggu-kun, and
Yonchun-kun.[27]
In April 1999, the ROK Air Force started removing
thousands of landmines laid in and around four of the Air Force’s air
defense sites in the outskirts of Seoul. Officials indicated the clearance was
being undertaken for fear that mines might be washed away in heavy monsoon rains
and endanger civilians. This was reported to be the first phase of a clearance
effort lasting several years that will remove landmines from ten air defense
sites -- seven in the Seoul area and one each in Pusan, Kangwon and North Cholla
province.[28]
In September 1999, the Defense Ministry said it will clear mines every year
through 2003 in the five rear areas of Mount Sumo (south Kyongsang province),
Mount Homyong (Kyonggi province), Kachang (Taegu), and Kwangchong and Anhung
(both in south Chungchong
province).[29]
The South Korean government has participated in the Mine Ban Treaty
intersessional Standing Committee of Experts meetings on mine clearance and
victim assistance.[30]
There are no government-sponsored mine awareness programs. Since its
formation in 1997, the Korea Campaign to Ban Landmines has produced a brochure
and a picture book, and has conducted workshops and a media campaign to increase
the general public’s understanding of the
issue.[31]
The ROK government has contributed $430,000 to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund
for Assistance in Mine Clearance, including $55,000 in 1999 for mine action
programs in Cambodia, Nicaragua, and
Guatemala.[32]
Landmine Casualties
The Korean War probably resulted in many thousands
of landmine casualties (soldiers and civilians), but the South Korean government
states that data is not available for the period of
1950-1991.[33] Though rarely
discussed, there continue to be new mine casualties. According to the official
records of the South Korean government, there were ninety-one mine victims
between 1992 and 1999, including thirty-four
civilians.[34] The government
says that there was one incident in 1999, when a civilian was maimed by an AP
mine in Chungyang-kun,
Choongchungnam-do.[35] The
government states that there are only sixty-two landmine victims alive in South
Korea.[36]
The actual victim figure is likely higher since the official number
apparently includes only those who lodged claims with the South Korean
government. As a result of lawsuits, the government had to make compensations
totaling $213,000 to five landmine victims from 1992 to
1997.[37] The Korea Campaign to
Ban Landmines has talked to many mine survivors who did not make legal claims
because they were reluctant to create trouble with military authorities.
Recognizing the shortage of reliable data, the KCBL estimates that, dating back
to the end of the war, there have been more than 1,000 civilian mine victims,
and 2,000-3,000 military mine victims in South
Korea.[38]
Survivor Assistance
The government states that it “makes
reparations to the surviving victims of landmines through the State Compensation
Act. The victims are categorized into seven scales according to the severity of
their wound. The Act stipulates various kinds of preferential policy treatment
for the victims, such as tax cuts, employment advantages for their children and
assistance in purchasing homes. For soldiers wounded while on duty, medical
services are provided by the Veteran’s
Hospital.”[39] The Korea
Campaign to Ban Landmines indicates that as of October 1999, the national health
insurance system covers victims’ expenses in fitting artificial legs.
The KCBL states that it contributed $20,000 for survivor assistance in 1999,
including artificial legs and the medical expenses of an eight-year-old girl.
According to KCBL, Church Women United of Korea will give 100,000 won ($90) per
month to nineteen victims from April to October
2000.[40]
[1] Response of the Permanent Mission of
the Republic of Korea to the United Nations (NY) to Landmine Monitor
researcher’s questionnaire, 21 March 2000. It should be noted that many
military experts and retired officers, including a former commander of joint
U.S.-ROK forces, have publicly stated that antipersonnel mines can be removed
without jeopardizing the defense of the ROK. (See Landmine Monitor Report 1999
for more detail). [2]
Ibid. [3]
Ibid. [4]
Ibid. [5] See, Statement by the
delegation of the Republic of Korea at the First Annual Conference of the States
Parties to the Amended Protocol II to the CCW, 15 December
1999. [6] Statement of ROK Mission to
the UN (NY) at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, 15 October
1999. [7] See, Jane’s Mines &
Mine Clearance 1999-2000, and Eddie Banks, Brassey’s Essential Guide to
Antipersonnel Landmines (London: Brassey’s, 1997),
pp.200-201. [8] Response of ROK Mission
to the UN, 21 March 2000. [9]
Ibid. [10]
Ibid. [11] U.S. Army, Armament,
Munitions, and Chemical Command (USAMCCOM), Letter to Human Rights Watch, 25
August 1993, and attached statistical tables; U.S. Defense Security Assistance
Agency, Foreign Military Sales of Antipersonnel Mines FY 1983-1933, as of 11
August 1993. [12] “Anti-Landmine
Crusader Williams Receives Cold Shoulder From Korea,” Korea Herald, 4
February 1998. [13] Response of the ROK
Mission to the UN, 21 March 2000. See also, Statement by ROK at the First
Annual Conference on Amended Protocol II, 15 December
1999. [14] See Landmine Monitor 1999, p.
333. The U.S. may also have a significant number of ADAM self-destructing mines
stockpiled. [15] “Over 1.12
Million Landmines Laid Throughout ROK,” Seoul Yonhap, 28 September
1999. [16] Response of the ROK Mission
to the UN, 21 March 2000. [17] Lt. Gen.
(ret.) Robert G. Gard, Jr., Alternatives to Antipersonnel Landmines, VVAF
Monograph, Spring 1999, p.20. Gard cites the source as “In Korea’s
Misnamed DMZ,” Washington Times, 23 January 1998. Another press account
cites one million in the military control zone, and an unknown number in the
DMZ. Susan Feeney, “Deadly Zone,” Dallas Morning News, 24 November
1997. [18] Joongang Daily News, 18
January 1999, claims U.S. troops have laid tens of thousands of mines around
important military installations. See also, Bae, Myong-Oh, National Politics,
Issue 56, March 1998. According to one source, about 100,000 AP mines have
been planted around military bases. Sisa Journal, 18 March
1999. [19] See Landmine Monitor 1999, p.
336. [20] U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers, July 1993, p. 113. [21]
Response of the ROK Mission to the UN, 21 March
2000. [22] John Larkin, South China
Morning Post, 30 October 1998. [23]
“Air Force Removing Thousands of Landmines,” Korea Herald, 2 April
1999. A subsequent article said that 170 of 329 had been found, citing a
military official. “Military Warns of Mines, Shells Spread by
Flooding,” Korea Herald, 7 August
1999. [24] “Military Units Fail to
Recover Landmines,” Chosun Ilbo, 5 October
1999. [25] “Military Warns of
Mines, Shells Spread by Flooding,” Korea Herald, 7 August
1999. [26] “Military Units Fail to
Recover Landmines,” Chosun Ilbo, 5 October
1999. [27] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 480-482. [28] “Air Force
Removing Thousands of Landmines,” Korea Herald, 2 April
1999. [29] “Over 1.12 Million
Landmines Laid Throughout ROK,” Seoul Yonhap, 28 September
1999. [30] See
http://www.gichd.ch/docs/minebantreaty/mineclearance [31]
The picture book, titled “Unfinished War – Antipersonnel
Landmines,” was published in 1999 by Korea Church Women United, a member
of the KCBL. [32] Response of the ROK
Mission to the UN, 21 March 2000. [33]
Ibid. [34]
Ibid. [35] Ibid. The antipersonnel mine
was washed away from a military storage site due to
flooding. [36] Ibid. This probably does
not include survivors injured during the
war. [37] Ministry of National Defense,
“The Present Condition of State Reparation,” 9 July
1998. [38] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p. 480. [39] Response of the ROK Mission
to the UN, 21 March 2000. [40] KCBL
draft report to Landmine Monitor, May 2000.
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