SOUTH DESTROYS GUARD POST WITH DYNAMITE

CHEORWON, KOREA, REPUBLIC

OF South Korea exploded one of its own front-line guard posts Thursday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky above the border with North Korea, in the most dramatic scene to date in the rivals’ efforts to reduce animosities.

Last week, the two Koreas finished withdrawing troops and firearms from some of the guard posts along their border before dismantling them. The steps are part of agreements signed in September during a meeting between their leaders in Pyongyang.

On Thursday, South Korea’s military invited a group of journalists to watch the destruction of a guard post with dynamite in the central border area of Cheorwon. North Korea is also demolishing its guard posts with explosives, according to South Korean media.