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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea and South Korea agreed on Friday to "completely destroy" 22 guard posts near their heavily fortified border, the latest advance in negotiations aimed at defusing military tension. Seoul Ministry of Defense.
PHOTO FILE: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un thank the audience after attending the performance "The Glorious Country" at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. September 19, 2018. Pyeongyang Press Corps / Pool via REUTERS
It follows a military pact at a summit held last month in the North Korean capital, which called for an end to "all hostile acts", at a no-fly zone near the border. border and the gradual withdrawal of guard posts, firearms and antipersonnel mines from the demilitarized zone. (DMZ) separating the two.
At first, the neighbors agreed to demolish 11 guard posts within 1 km on either side of the border and to remove the equipment and personnel who were stationed there by the end of November, announced the ministry.
"The measures will be finalized by mutual verification in December," he said in a statement.
The talks were led by Major General of the South Korean Army Kim Do-gyun and North Korean Lieutenant-General An Ik San at the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone.
The two sides also planned to reinstate a joint military commission and to form a joint team to examine the water courses of the Han River that their trading vessels could share.
The two sides also completed Thursday the removal of guard posts and firearms in the Panmunjom Joint Security Zone, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Southern Army has announced that it will hold two military exercises next week.
This came after an agreement reached last week by Seoul and Washington to end the Vigilant Ace air defense exercises scheduled for December, to give the nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea all opportunities to continue, said the Pentagon.
The allies postponed the main annual exercises of the guardian of freedom Ulchi in August.
In order to maintain its defense readiness and strengthen its military cooperation, South Korea has decided to carry out Taeguk and Hoguk exercises, its chief of staff said.
The first is a command post exercise Monday through Friday, while the second is a field maneuver exercise that begins Monday, centered on a river east of the capital, Seoul.
"This year's exercise aims to maintain a balanced defense posture and improve the effects of the practice, given the suspension of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian," said the JCS in a statement, referring to the annual exercise in which 17,500 American soldiers joined the South Korean troops.
The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will meet in Washington on Wednesday for an annual security consultative meeting, during which they should formally announce the suspension of Vigilant Ace exercises.
Reportage of Hyonhee Shin; Edited by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez
