North Korea slams South's claim it was behind DMZ mine blasts, calling it a 'farce'

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rejected on Wednesday South Korean findings that the North planted land mines that injured three South Korean soldiers last week and threatened to retaliate if the South fires on North Korean troops fortifying the border. The incident could further inflame tensions between the two Koreas, which have no working military hotlines or other emergency communications channels as Pyongyang hardens its stance towards Seoul while expanding its military nuclear programme. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions on 21 September near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified border buffer zone between the two sides.