N Korea-UNSC

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) calling last month's land mine blast near the border an incident "fabricated" by South Korea, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday.

The North's move came less than a week after South Korea sent to the council its own letter calling on North Korea to apologize for the Sept. 21 mine blast that injured three South Korean soldiers and take responsibility for its violation of the Armistice Agreement.

The letter, sent Sunday by Pyongyang's permanent representative to the United Nations, said Seoul "fabricated" the mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a "sinister" attempt to "impede" the North's border fortification work, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The North described the fortification a "legitimate and just exercise of its sovereignty going in strict conformity with the U.N. Charter and international law as it is a self-defensive measure to defend its territorial security from outside threat of aggression."

It also accused the South Korean military of firing warning shots at North Korean "service personnel" working on the project, calling it a "wanton violation" of Article 2 (4) of the U.N. Charter, which requires states to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any country.

Pyongyang warned it would "exercise the right to self-defense specified in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter" if Seoul "invades the territory of our country even a millimeter or perpetrates a direct provocation doing harm to our personnel's safety and lives."

South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Cha Ji-hoon on Thursday addressed the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the council's rotating presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the explosion.

The letter is said to stress that the blast was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops in violation of the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

It also urged Pyongyang to take responsible measures and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust.

The tit-for-tat exchange comes amid heightened tensions along the inter-Korean border, with North Korea threatening to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South.

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