3 military officers injured in suspected landmine explosion during operation at DMZ

Three military officers were injured Monday in an unidentified explosion during a search operation at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The explosion occurred south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the western sector of the DMZ earlier in the day, according to the JCS. The military did not specify, but the accident is suspected to be a landmine explosion. It was not immediately known whether the landmine that went off was planted by North Korean troops or by the South Korean military. Two of the injured officers were transported via an emergency helicopter to a hospital and are being treated for their injuries. Other soldiers involved in the operation, including another officer who sustained injuries, will also be escorted to the hospital for a medical checkup. Authorities said they plan to investigate the cause of the explosion. The military is looking into the chance that an unidentified landmine went off during a DMZ route clearance operation or the possibility that North Korean landmines, swept by the recent torrentia