Koreas, U.N. finish removing firearms from border village

Seoul, South Korea — The rival Koreas and the U.S.-led U.N. Command finished removing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at a border village on Thursday, as part of agreements to reduce decades-long animosity on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea separately announced that its troops found what it believes are Korean War remains in another front-line area where they have been clearing land mines with North Korean soldiers. The rival Koreas plan their first-ever joint searches for war dead there after their demining work is done.

Disarming the Joint Security Area at the border village of Panmunjom and the joint searches are among a package of deals the Koreas’ defense ministers struck on the sidelines of their leaders’ summit last month. Other steps include creating buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries and a no-fly zone above the border, as well as removing some of their frontline guard posts.

On Thursday, the Koreas and the U.N. Command completed a removal of weapons, ammunition and soldiers manning guard posts at Panmunjom’s Joint Security Area, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The three sides earlier finished removing mines from the village.

The three sides will jointly verify their disarmament work today and Saturday. Under the September deals, the two Koreas are to let 35 “unarmed personnel” from each side guard the Joint Security Area and let tourists freely move around there.