Two Koreas removing border land mines

North and South Korean troops began removing land mines along the nations’ heavily fortified border on Monday, the South’s Defense Ministry said.

The two sides agreed to remove all land mines in the so-called Joint Security Area in Panmunjom within the next 20 days, in a pact reached during last month’s summit in Pyongyang between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean despot Kim Jong-un.

There was no immediate confirmation from North Korea that its troops had begun the demining process, but the South said it expects its neighbor to adhere to the deal.

Experts believe that there are more than 1 million land mines along the border — and civilians and soldiers alike have been killed or injured by them.

As part of last month’s desl, guard posts and weapons will be shipped out of the JSA after the demining. Troops will remain there — but will be unarmed.

The JSA is the only area along the 155-mile long demilitarized zone, or DMZ, where troops from both countries are face to face.

The first milestone meeting between Kim and Moon in April was held there, as was their meeting in May.

At the April meeting, the two leaders announced their intention to turn the DMZ into a “peace zone.”

Propaganda loudspeakers and some guard posts along the border have already been dismantled.

Teams from both Koreas will flock to Arrow Head Hill in the Gangwon province in South Korea. There, they’ll search for the re- mains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the South’s Defense Ministry said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to visit Pyongyang this month to try to set up a second summit between President Trump and Kim.