PYONGYANG, SEOUL AGREE TO DISMANTLE 22 FRONTLINE GUARD POSTS AS PART OF CONFIDENCE-BUILDING AGREEMENT
SEOUL— The North and South Korean militaries agreed Friday to destroy 22 front-line guard posts by the end of November as part of a military agreement signed last month.
They also agreed to conduct a joint survey early next month of a 70-km waterway near their western border where civilian vessels will eventually be allowed to pass freely, according to a statement released after the talks at Panmunjom.
The plans to remove the guard posts and jointly use the Han River estuary were among the commitments spelled out in the military agreement reached last month on the sidelines of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jongun and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Friday’s talks came a day after the Koreas and the US-led UN Command completed removing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at the border village.
The Koreas have also been clearing mines from front-line areas and plan their first-ever joint search for remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War in April.
South Korea confirmed on Thursday that its soldiers had found war remains in a different front-line area.
According to the statement provided by South Korea’s Defense Ministry, the Koreas agreed to complete the withdrawal of personnel, firearms and equipment and the destruction of the 11 guard posts from each side by the end of November.
In the September agreement, the Koreas pledged to eventually withdraw all guard posts within the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone between them.
The Koreas did not produce a timetable for setting up a joint military committee to maintain communication and avoid crises and accidental clashes, but agreed it should be “soon.”
The Koreas also agreed last month to create buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries, as well as a no-fly zone above the border.
Moon has described the military agreement as a step that will reduce border tensions and create more space for larger USled negotiations on denuclearizing North Korea.