South Korea discovered that North Korea sneakily dug several tunnels that led to its neighboring country, according to Gen. Hahn Sung-Chu of the South's military.

Dowsers found three tunnels with a width of approximately five meters and a depth of 12 meters, the general said. Hahn branded the act of digging the tunnels as a form of "invasion," saying North Korean soldiers were working under their territory all the while, CNN relayed.

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Hahn said some residents reported they felt the vibrations underneath the ground, but could not justify the complaint because there is no subway running in the area.

When his team attempted to bore holes for lowering a camera, they encountered two explosions underground and the holes they drilled were blocked thereafter.

Hahn is sure North Korean soldiers were underground to protect the tunnel, the report said.

Hahn's team discovered four tunnels running from the North, but they were not present since 1990. South Korea believes there are around 20 tunnels and the Defense Ministry is still looking for the rest under the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

North Korea, on the other hand, denied the tunnels were built for an invasion. They are part of its mining activities, the reclusive state explained.

The Defense Ministry is convinced that North Korea could not dig a tunnel six miles (10 kilometers) beyond the DMZ because the Imjin River would get in the way. An area spanning 25 miles (40 kilometers) separates Seoul from the DMZ.

The Korean Peninsula contains a large amount of groundwater, so one must keep removing water and soil if he wants to dig a tunnel that runs tens of kilometres, Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-Seok said. The digging must also be done at a proper angle, he added.

Both the U.S. and South Korea have monitored the area using aerial photos, and they did not find any evidence of the tunnel-digging, Kim said. However, a former intelligence officer from NoKor disputed this, saying soldiers from the North dug the tunnels vertically at night to avoid detection.

The official, who refused to reveal his true name to protect his family in the North, said he knew of the tunnel digging when he still lived there. He thinks Pyongyang would exert considerable effort to protect the various tunnels it dug in the last couple of decades.

"The tunnels are connected to the sewers linked to the relevant organizations," the official said.

The relevant organizations include the U.S. Embassy, Blue House and other government establishments. In case a war erupts, the North's army would run into the tunnels wearing South Korean or American uniforms and blow up the path behind them to prevent retreat.

Hahn said the South Korean government should not dismiss the threat posed by the tunnels being dug underneath their feet.

TagsNorth Korea, Korean Demilitarized Zone, Tunnel Warfare