2 Koreas talk about implementing recent military agreement
10/25/18, 22:22
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a U.S. and a South Korean army soldiers stand before leaving from the border village of Panmunjom, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. The rival Koreas and the U.S.-led U.N. Command completed withdrawing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at the Koreas' border village on Thursday as part of their sweeping agreements to reduce decades-long military animosities on the Korean Peninsula. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP).
North and South Korea are holding military talks on their border to discuss implementing a broad-reaching military agreement last month to reduce tensions.
Visitors walk near the wire fence decorated with ribbons carrying messages wishing the reunification and peace of the two Koreas at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Since the Korean War’s end, the Koreas remain split along the 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long border, called the DMZ. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
South Korean Major Gen. Kim Do-gyun said Friday’s discussions at Panmunjom will include establishing a joint military committee that’s meant to maintain communication and avoid crises and accidental clashes.
Visitors use binoculars to see the North Korea side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Since the Korean War’s end, the Koreas remain split along the 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long border, called the DMZ. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The talks come a day after the Koreas and the U.S.-led U.N. Command completed removing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at the border village.
North Korea’s Kaepoong town is seen behind a North Korean military guard post, bottom, from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Since the Korean War’s end, the Koreas remain split along the 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long border, called the DMZ. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Seoul says the military agreement is an important trust-building step that will reduce border tensions and create more space for larger U.S.-led negotiations to denuclearize the North.
A man watches the North side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Since the Korean War’s end, the Koreas remain split along the 248-kilometer (155-mile) -long border, called the DMZ. An estimated 2 million mines are peppered inside and near the DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Some experts say the South risks conceding its conventional military strength before the North takes any concrete steps toward relinquishing its nuclear weapons.
