Two land mine blasts separated by over a decade have brought the enduring dangers along the Korean Peninsula’s frontier into sharp focus as the dynamics surrounding them changed dramatically.

In 2015, a North Korean mine explosion wounded two South Korean soldiers, triggering a chain of accusations, threats and artillery fire. 

Last week, another blast injured three South Korean personnel in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), prompting Seoul to conclude that the culprit was “highly likely” to be North Korean plastic land mines.

The similarities are striking, but so are the differences in the two