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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea and South Korea and the United States Command agreed on Monday to withdraw their guns and guard posts in the demilitarized village of Panmunjom this week, Seoul Defense Ministry said. .
PHOTO FILE: A North Korean soldier patrols in the village of Panmunjom under the truce regime inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, on April 18, 2018. Photo taken on April 18 2018. REUTERS / Kim Hong-Ji
The three sides held their second round of talks in Panmunjom to discuss ways to demilitarize the border, in line with the recent inter-Korean pact reached at the Pyongyang summit last month.
The UN-led UN, which oversees affairs in the demilitarized zone since the end of hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War, was not immediately available for comment, but it has said Friday that he supported the efforts of the two Koreas to implement their military agreement. .
The announcement came as the United States feared that the inter-Korean military initiative would undermine the preparation of the defense and that no substantive progress had been made on the denuclearization promised by North Korea.
Neighbors plan to remove 11 guard posts within a 1 km radius of the military demarcation line along their border by the end of the year.
They also plan to remove all firearms from a common security zone (JSA) in Panmunjom and reduce to 35 each the number of personnel posted there and to share information on surveillance equipment. .
At Monday's meeting, the three parties agreed to remove JSA firearms and guard posts and conduct a joint inspection within two days, the ministry said.
The two Koreas removed the mines around the area as part of the agreement and confirmed the completion of the mine clearance operation during talks with the UNC.
"We discussed the chronology of the withdrawal of firearms and guard posts, as well as ways to adjust the number of guards and conduct joint inspections," the ministry said in a statement.
The agreement also provides for the interruption of "all hostile acts" and an area of air exclusion around the border.
North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce and not a peace treaty, but relations have improved considerably over the past decade. year.
After its third summit in Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the North was ready to invite international experts to witness the dismantling of a key missile site and to shut down the main Yongbyon nuclear complex. if Washington took reciprocal measures.
These actions could include the official end of the 1950-53 war, the opening of a North Korean liaison office in North Korea, humanitarian aid and an exchange of economic experts, Moon said.
But Washington is asking North Korea to take irreversible measures to scrap its arsenal, for example by full disclosure of nuclear facilities and materials.
Reportage of Hyonhee Shin; Edited by Nick Macfie
