South Korea secures 15 landmines carried away by floods from the border

North Korea's border with South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/대한민국 국군/Republic of Korea Armed Forces)

South Korean authorities have secured 15 landmines that were allegedly carried away by the flood from the inter-Korean border to their coastal areas, according to officials on Friday.

Choi Young-ran, head of the civil defense of the Ganghwa northwest border region of South Korea, said 15 "landmines suspected of belonging to North Korea" had been "found along the coastal area,"

He told AFP that the mines - which "are believed to have been carried away by the currents during the monsoon season and recent heavy rains" - were found between July 23 and August 3, as quoted by Al Arabiya (7/8).

"We have secured the 15 mines," he said.

Ganghwa, an island administrative region, is located at the mouth of the Han River, which is crossed by the border line between North Korea and South Korea.

The Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which separates South Korea from North Korea since the 1950-53 war ended in an armistice, is one of the world's highest concentrations of landmines.

According to military data cited by Yonhap news agency, an estimated 800,000 mines are buried around the area - many of them from the war - but new mine installations have also continued in recent years.

Seoul's military last month warned of the risk of heavy rain that could wash explosives into cross-border rivers, potentially causing "serious damage" if they exploded downstream.

In 2015, two South Korean soldiers on patrol in the western DMZ lost limbs to severe wounds caused by North Korean mines, according to military accounts.

In late July, the Ganghwa regional government issued a warning to residents about the dangers of North Korean mines along the coastal area.

Earlier, local officials said on Wednesday they "don't rule out the possibility of other mines that could have been brought here."