Neighbors connect tactical border road
SEOUL — The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have connected a tactical road across the border inside the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, to help excavate the remains of fallen soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War, the ROK Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The military authorities of the DPRK and the ROK had conducted construction work to build a 3-km-long road across the military demarcation line, or MDL, inside the DMZ beginning in October, the ministry said.
The unpaved road was built near the Arrowhead Ridge in Cheorwon, about 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul. The ROK part of the road is around 1.7 km long, with the DPRK side spanning nearly 1.3 km.
It will be used to transport personnel and equipment for the inter-Korean project to jointly excavate the remains of soldiers killed during the War.
The excavation project will last from April to October next year on a trial basis inside the DMZ, which has left the Korean Peninsula divided since the war ended with an armistice.
The project was a part of the military agreement, which was signed by defense chiefs of the two neighbors during the Pyongyang summit in September between ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.
Demining operations were underway for the launch of next year’s remains retrieval project.
The two countries first linked their road across the border along the western coast of the peninsula in 2003, connecting the second one in late 2004 along the eastern coast. Cheorwon lies at the center of the peninsula.
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog on Thursday called on Pyongyang to allow inspectors back into the DPRK to monitor its nuclear program.
Speaking at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General Yukiya Amano noted that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the “permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon” a reactor where it produces plutonium.
Amano said there has been activity observed at Yongbyon, but “without access the agency cannot confirm the nature and purpose of these activities”.
At a news conference later on Thursday, he said he couldn’t elaborate on when exactly the activity was observed.
IAEA inspectors were expelled from the DPRK in 2009 but Amano said the agency continues to prepare for their possible re-admittance.