The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)―North
Korea―has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The North Korean government
has not made any statement on the landmine issue since 1998, when a
representative indicated that the government supported the “humanitarian
purposes and the nature of” the Mine Ban Treaty, but could not accede to
it “for security reasons” given the circumstances on the Korean
peninsula.[1] The government has not
publicly reacted to the February 2004 landmine policy announcement by the Bush
administration that the United States will retain non-self-destructing
antipersonnel mines for potential use in Korea until 2010, and thereafter retain
self-destructing antipersonnel mines for use
globally.[2]
North Korea has never attended a major international or regional meeting on
the landmine issue, including any meetings related to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Since 1997, North Korea has been absent from every vote on the annual UN General
Assembly resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, including UNGA Resolution
59/84 on 3 December 2004. North Korea is not party to Amended Protocol II of
the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
North Korea has produced antipersonnel mines, but no information is
available on ongoing production.[3]
North Korean mines have been found in Angola and Sudan, but there are no reports
of recent transfers.[4] The size of
North Korea’s stockpile of antipersonnel mines is not known, but it is
probably substantial.
Use and Landmine Problem
The only place where North Korea has admitted using landmines is in the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where US sources have estimated the number deployed at
“hundreds of
thousands.”[5] In addition to
the DMZ, it is likely that North Korea may have planted some mines along the
east coast and west coast areas in preparation against any possible military
invasion from the sea. There is no information on marking and/or warning of
danger areas in North Korea.
Mine and UXO Clearance
There is no information about mine clearance within the DMZ in North Korea in
2004 and through May 2005.[6] Some
limited clearance took place in 2002-2003 linked to the projects to re-connect
the inter-Korean road and railway.
In the process of joint operations in North Korea to recover the remains of
US soldiers missing in action from the Korean War, some clearance of unexploded
ordnance (UXO) has taken place in previous
years.[7] There were five such
recovery operations between 24 April and 12 October 2004, in Unsan County about
100 kilometers north of Pyongyang and at the Changjin, also known as the
“Chosin,” Reservoir; it cannot be confirmed if UXO was found in
these five operations.[8] The
recovery operations have been carried out jointly by North Korea and US forces
since 1996, by 27-member teams composed of both civilian and military
specialists from the Joint POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action)
Accounting Command (JPAC) of the US Defense Department, with the assistance of
North Korean soldiers. Included in the JPAC group are explosive ordnance
disposal specialists.[9] One of the
side benefits appears to be clearance of remaining UXO from the battle sites.
Items found include mortar rounds, three-inch rocket launchers, bullets and the
like. However, no unexploded antipersonnel mines have been found from the
recovery sites.[10]
In 2004, the US and North Korea agreed to conduct five recovery operations
during 2005. However, the US “temporarily” suspended the operations
on 25 May 2005, after completing one recovery operation at Unsan County and
Changjin Reservoir, apparently due to the rising tensions between the two
governments over nuclear
weapons.[11]
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
Landmine incidents are likely to continue to occur in certain battle sites of
the Korean War, and in or near the DMZ, but it is not known if there were any
new mine casualties in 2004 or in the first half of
2005.[12] The total number of mine
casualties is not known.
The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) provides some medical
supplies to targeted provincial, city and county hospitals. In 2004, IFRC
distributed 26 orthopedic kits to hospitals with special surgical facilities to
treat emergency and traumatic
injuries.[13]
There are two international organizations that assist people with
disabilities in North Korea: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
and Handicap International (HI). ICRC assists the Songrim Orthopedic Center, 30
kilometers south of Pyongyang. The center was closed for renovation from
January to May 2004. During this reporting period, national staff from the
Songrim Center and from the Ministry of Defense rehabilitation center received
training in prosthetics, orthotics and physiotherapy. From June to December
2004, the center assisted 356 people, produced 381 prostheses (58 for mine
survivors) and 11 orthoses (one for a mine survivor), and delivered 350 crutches
and 64 wheelchairs. ICRC also conducted two training seminars on stump-revision
surgery for more than 50 surgeons and nurses from six hospitals and
rehabilitation centers in
Pyongyang.[14] ICRC, in
collaboration with the Ministry of Defense, will open another orthopedic center
in Pyongyang in 2005, to treat disabled military
personnel.[15]
Handicap International supports the Hamhung Physical Rehabilitation Center
and Hamhung Orthopedic Hospital on the east coast. HI provides technical
training and supplies for the production of above and below knee prostheses. In
2004, the center assisted 785 people, produced 837 prostheses, and distributed
110 crutches and 50 wheelchairs. It is not known how many were for mine
survivors. HI is also working closely with a local partner, the Korean
Association for Supporting the
Disabled.[16]
The government reportedly provides assistance for disabled soldiers by
setting up special factories.[17]
North Korea has a comprehensive system for assisting persons with
disabilities; however, this system is limited by the general economic situation
of the country.[18] Official
figures indicate that there are approximately 36,000 amputees in North Korea,
but available rehabilitation facilities have the capacity to assist only 4,600
people each year.[19]
The Law on the Protection of Disabled People protects the rights of persons
with disabilities in North
Korea.[20]
[1] Statement by Counselor Kim Sam
Jong, Permanent Mission of DPRK to the UN, New York, 4 December 1998, Official
Records of the UN General Assembly, Fifty-Third session, 79th plenary meeting
(A/53/pv79), pp. 8-9.
[2] US Department of State, Bureau
for Political-Military Affairs, “Fact Sheet: New US Policy on
Landmines,” 27 February 2004.
[3] North Korea has produced Model
15 fragmentation mines and APP M-57 blast mines. See Eddie Banks,
Brassey’s Essential Guide to Anti-personnel Mines (London:
Brassey’s, 1997), p. 164, and Jane’s Mines and Mine
Clearance, 2004-2005, p. 211.
[4]Jane’s Mines and Mine
Clearance, 2004-2005, p. 211. In addition, a Guyana Defence Force official
who requested anonymity told Landmine Monitor in 2002 that Guyana
stockpiled “PMB-2” mines made by North Korea. This has not been
confirmed. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 485-486.
[5] Bill Gertz, “In
Korea’s Misnamed DMZ, U.S. Defenders Rely on Mines,” Washington
Times, 23 January 1998.
[6] A request for information to
the DPRK Mission to the UN in New York in 2005 received no response.
[7] Information given to Landmine
Monitor researcher by employee in the US Department of Defense, 10 March 2004.
[8] US Defense POW/Missing
Personnel Office, “Personnel Accounting Progress in Korea as of February
4, 2005,” pp. 1, 6. See also
www.defenselink.mil/releases/2003/nr20030924-0475.html and www.dtic.mil/dpmo. Confirmation of UXO is
not possible since US operation records are not available to the public.
[9] Defense POW/Missing Personnel
Office, News Release, 20 April 2005.
[10] Information given to
Landmine Monitor researcher by employee in the US Department of Defense, 10
March 2004.
[11] “U.S. Halts Search for
Its War Dead in North Korea,” New York Times, 26 May 2005; see also
US Pacific Command Public Affairs, Press Release, 25 May 2005.
[12] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1019.
[13] Information provided by Dr.
Ruben, head of IFRC office in North Korea, 25 April 2005; IFRC, “Annual
Report 2004,” www.ifrc.org.
[14] Email from Matthias Kind,
ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, 27 April 2005; ICRC, “Annual
Report 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p. 172; ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Program, “Annual Report 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, pp. 27,44.
[15] Email from Matthias Kind,
ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, 27 April 2005; ICRC, “North Korea:
ICRC to Support New Orthopedic Center,” 22 March 2005, www.icrc.org.
[16] Email from Bryce Fieldhouse,
Country Director, HI DPRK, 9 May 2005.
[17] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1019.
[18] Email from Bryce Fieldhouse,
Country Director, HI DPRK, 19 August 2004.
[19] See “ICRC in North
Korea,” www.icrc.org; “North Korea
Needs More Prosthetic Legs: Report,” Yonhap English News, Seoul, 25
March 2005.
[20] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1020.
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