A number of North Korean soldiers working within the two Koreas' land border buffer area of the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) have recently been killed or injured from mine explosions.

According to an official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) on Tuesday, the North is seemingly pushing ahead with various work within the DMZ, including laying mines, despite the numerous casualties from recent mine explosions.

Since terminating the 2018 inter-Korean tension-reduction military agreement last November, Pyongyang has completed restoration of frontline guard posts(GP) around January and laid mines along cross-border roads linking the two Koreas. It is currently dismantling streetlights and railways along the east coast.

The North is also currently building a barrier along the DMZ, which the JCS assesses to be an antitank obstacle rather than a border line. The JCS official said linking the construction to a possible establishment of a border line would require further analysis, although it is possible.

The official said the regime's latest series of work inside the buffer zone could also be part of its efforts to reinforce internal control over defection of its citizens.