ZCZC
BFF-17
SKOREA-NKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY
Two Koreas agree to withdraw some border guard posts
SEOUL, Oct 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The two Koreas on Friday agreed to remove
11 guard posts along the heavily-fortified border next month with a goal to
possibly remove all of them in the future, senior military officials said.
The agreement made between generals from the two sides came as diplomatic
thaw between the former wartime foes gathered pace.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un
previously agreed on a broad plan to ease tensions along the border during
their third summit in Pyongyang last month.
During Friday’s talks aimed at fleshing out details, the two sides agreed
to withdraw all troops and weaponry from the 11 guard posts along the border
and destroy them by the end of November, according to a joint statement
released by Seoul’s military.
“The two sides also agreed to hold working-level talks to remove all
remaining GPs based on the progress of the test removal of 11 GPs,” it said
after the talks held at the border truce village of Panmunjom.
Panmunjom — or the Joint Security Area (JSA) — is the only spot along the
tense, 250-kilometre (155-mile) frontier where soldiers from the two Koreas
and the US-led UN Command stand face to face.
But as part of the latest reconciliatory gesture, the two Koreas on
Thursday removed all firearms and guard posts from the area, leaving it
manned by 35 unarmed personnel from each side.
The two nations technically remain at war after the 1950-53 Korean War that
sealed the division of the peninsula ended with a ceasefire instead of a
peace treaty.
But ties improved markedly this year as Moon — a dove who advocates
dialogue with the isolated, nuclear-armed North — and Kim took a series of
reconciliatory gestures.
The two sides also finished removing landmines at the JSA — which has been
increasingly used for talks between the two Koreas — last week as part of
the deal between Kim and Moon.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1440 hrs