South Korea urged the North Korean regime to resume dialogue following the explosion in the border area

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday, September 18, 2026 (Ahn Young-joon/REUTERS)South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday urged North Korea to return to the path of dialogue, one day after Seoul demanded an apology from Pyongyang for an explosion in the demilitarized zone that left three South Korean soldiers seriously injured. "The knots in inter-Korean relations are extremely complex, but we will strive constantly and patiently to untie them, one by one," Lee said in a speech marking South Korea's Armed Forces Day. "I hope the North joins us now on the path of restoring trust and resuming dialogue, after a long interruption," the president added. The explosion occurred on September 21 inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily mined strip that separates the two countries since the 1953 armistice. Three South Korean officers were seriously injured and one lost a foot. The South Korean military demanded an apology from North Korea on Wednesday. South Korean authorities maintain that the incident constituted "a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and undermines the spirit of the existing inter-Korean agreements." The United States-led United Nations Command reported that a joint investigation with the South Korean military identified an active North Korean anti-personnel mine on the South Korean side of the military demarcation line. "Based on the findings of the investigation, the United Nations Command determined that a violation of the Armistice Agreement occurred," the entity said. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (KCNA via REUTERS)Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, denied on Wednesday that Pyongyang was behind the explosions. The official called Seoul's accusation "too low and dirty" and accused the South Korean government of fabricating evidence. "We will never remain passive spectators in the face of hostile acts that cause great concern in the border area," Kim Yo-jong said. North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war, since the 1950-1953 conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty. Lee has modified the policy of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, since taking office in June 2025. The South Korean president offered talks with no preconditions to Pyongyang and proposed last month that Washington seek to freeze the North Korean nuclear program, rather than demand its immediate elimination, in exchange for sanctions relief. Experts mentioned the resumption of K-pop music broadcasts on loudspeakers installed at the border as a possible response from Seoul. Others warned that retaliation options are limited, due to the impact on residents of border areas. In previous crises between the two countries, North Korea sent balloons carrying trash to the South and emitted sounds across the border. Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, considered that Lee's speech aims to open a communication channel to address incidents such as the one that occurred in the demilitarized zone. The recent overtures by US President Donald Trump toward North Korea have raised concern in Seoul about the possibility of being left out of future nuclear negotiations. Pyongyang also has the backing of Russia and China. US President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File)Trump said on Tuesday that he maintains a personal relationship with Kim Jong-un, and blamed previous US administrations for the development of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. "It turns out Kim Jong-un is a friend of mine. He likes Trump. He doesn't like many other people. I'm practically the only person in the whole world that he likes, and he likes me," he told reporters outside the White House. The Republican said the criticism he receives for speaking of the North Korean dictator in those terms does not change his stance. "I get criticized when I say that. People say he's terrible," he added. The US president said North Korea has nuclear capabilities and attributed that situation to the management of his predecessors in the White House. "Kim Jong-un has nuclear capabilities, a big nuclear arsenal, pretty big, not like ours, but he has nuclear capability," Trump said, adding: "There were presidents who didn't do what I did. That could have been avoided, but there were presidents who weren't Trump, and they didn't stop it," he said. (With information from AFP and EFE)