The South Korean military called Monday for special attention to land mines from North Korea amid growing concerns that they could have washed ashore here in a rainy season.

"The military has launched an intensive search operation along rivers and in coastal areas for mines since earlier this month to guarantee public safety," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said in a statement.

"Chances are that mines built in wooden boxes float down from North Korea and reach here. Extra caution is needed for residents in the inter-Korean border areas and visitors," it added.

The device carrying 200 grams of explosives is often contained in a small wooden box, making it hard for local residents to detect it as being dangerous. One person was killed and another was seriously injured in 2010 when they opened the box not knowing what it was.

Over the past four years, South Korea has retrieved a total of 258 North Korean mines, according to the JCS.

The two Koreas, which remain technically at war, are divided by the heavily armed border strewn with mines. (Yonhap)