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SEOUL, South Korea – Seoul announced that its Korean rivals had started Monday to remove mines and other explosives from two sites inside their heavily-armed border, as part of their recent measures to reduce voltage. They will probably extract a very small portion of the approximately 2 million mines scattered in and around the demilitarized zone of 155 miles (248 km) and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). But it would be the first joint de-mining effort of the two countries for more than a decade and is part of a climate of international diplomacy aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons.
Look on mine clearance:
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The sites
The mining that started on Monday took place in Korea's Common Security Zone in the border village of Panmunjom and in another front zone where the two countries are planning their first joint search for the remains of the soldiers. killed during the Korean War.
Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed in 1953 to end the war, is the most famous site in the demilitarized zone. Rival soldiers face each other within a few feet of each other and have been the scene of bloodshed and violence, including the 1976 assassination of two American soldiers. But it is also a place of discussion as two of the three inter-Korean summits of the year, and its mystique makes it a popular tourist destination.
Under agreements signed by their defense chiefs on the sidelines of the September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, demining of the joint security zone is expected. It is part of a wider effort to "disarm" the area and make it a "place of peace and unity".
The other area being demined is around the so-called "Arrow Head Hill", where some of the most violent fighting of the war took place over a strategic position atop a hill. .
The Seoul Defense Ministry said the remains of about 300 South Korean, French and American soldiers would be in the area. The remains of a large number of Chinese and North Korean soldiers are also likely to be present.
During the war, a US-run US-run French battalion repelled a series of Chinese attacks in the area in October 1952, months before a division of the South Korean army rejected similar Chinese attacks.
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The mines
Experts estimate that the South Korean and US armed forces have planted about 1 to 1.2 million mines south of the demilitarized zone, while North Korea has set up about 800,000 to 1 million mines. It is unclear how many mines are in Panmunjom and Arrow Head Hill, but military commentator Lee Illwoo said that Korea could eliminate tens of thousands of people.
Experts say the two Koreas have mismanaged their mines and do not know exactly how many plants have been planted and where. It is not uncommon for North Korean timber mining cases to flood a swollen river in the summer, causing fatal incidents in South Korea. The explosion of a DMZ mine in 2015 blamed on North Korea mutilated two South Korean soldiers, pushing rivals to the brink of an armed conflict. Many South Korean mines have also been dislodged due to floods or landslides.
In Panmunjom, the Koreas have to spend 20 days clearing mines before removing troops, weapons and guard posts in the region in the next five days. They later predict that 35 unarmed soldiers on either side will guard the village and allow tourists to freely cross concrete slabs at the ankles that mark the border.
In the case of Arrow Head Hill, they aim to remove the mines by the end of November. After building a cross-border road and forming a joint excavation team, the Koreas must launch a seven-month effort to locate the water remnants in April of next year.
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The ramifications
Monday's mine clearing is the first of its kind since the Koreas have worked together to clear mines and explosives in a few border areas to take over economic and transportation projects that are currently stalled during an earlier rapprochement period in the United States. 2000. Other agreements reached between the defense chiefs include the withdrawal of front-line guard posts and the creation of buffer zones along land, sea and air borders, where live fire exercises and flights military would be prohibited.
"This is the beginning of peace," said Kim Ki-ho, director of the Private Research Institute on Mine Clearance in Korea. "We must eliminate these mines, even if we do not remove all mines from the demilitarized zone."
Lee, the commentator, downplayed the importance of mine clearance, saying that "North Korea's military threats will not go away, even if we get rid of a small number of front-line mines."
The complete elimination of all DMZ mines could be a dilemma for both Koreas. South Korea would be more vulnerable to the infiltration and assault of North Korea by land, while North Korea would fear that front-line soldiers and residents would no longer escape through South, said Lee. Most of the North Korean refugees living in the south fled via the less protected border with China.
In recent years, South Korea unilaterally withdrew thousands of mines near the demilitarized zone as part of efforts to improve the lives and safety of civilians near the border area. In 2015, the Seoul Ministry of Defense told lawmakers that at this rate, it would take about 200 years to eliminate all mines on the southern side of the demilitarized zone and near-front areas.
If the demining efforts are continued and successful, this would be a step forward in the international campaign to ban landmines, said Kim Jae-yeop, professor of defense strategy at Hannam University, South Korea.
The United States and South Korea are among the most prominent countries that refused to sign the Ottawa Convention banning the use of mines during the war, which came into force in 1999, mainly because mines are heavily used.
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Kim Tong-hyung, an Associated Press reporter, contributed to this report.
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