Two Koreas start removing mines in two border areas

By Lim Chang-won Posted : October 1, 2018, 13:28 Updated : October 1, 2018, 13:28

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- Military engineers launched an operation to remove mines in two border areas as part of an agreement signed by South and North Korean leaders to turn the heavily armed border into a peace zone and prevent accidental clashes.

At a summit in Pyongyang in September, the two Korean agreed to disarm the Joint Security Area (JSA) in and around the truce village of Panmunjom, pull out 11 guard posts in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on a trial basis by the end of this year and conduct a joint excavation of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The DMZ is a four-kilometer-wide strip of land that has divided the Korean peninsula since an armistice accord ended the conflict in 1953. The zone was originally set up to be clear of heavy weapons, but it has been heavily fortified with minefields, guard posts, concrete walls and electric fences.

On Monday, military engineers from the two sides started their work to remove mines around Panmunjom, the symbol of division and acute Cold War confrontation, and a 1953 battlefield in the northern border town of Cheorwon, according to the South's defense ministry.

Panmunjom encompasses an 800-meter wide enclave, roughly circular in shape and created as a neutral area. It is the only contact point inside the DMZ, surrounded by minefields and guarded jointly under the armistice accord.

For a joint project to excavate war remains in Cheorwon, the two Koreas would gain access to Hill 281 (Arrowhead), a site of intense battles in 1953 for dominant and strategic hilltop positions. Chinese soldiers fought for North Korea. 

The ministry said that hundreds of soldiers from South Korea, the U.S. and France were buried in the hill. The two Koreas would conduct a joint excavation in the area and expand their work to other areas.

At a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to repatriate the remains of some 200 American soldiers. A month later, 55 sets of remains were sent to Hawaii.

The White House said the repatriation in July would lead to the full excavation of some 5,300 American soldiers known to be killed and buried on the northern part of the Korean peninsula. From 1990 to 2006, Pyongyang returned hundreds of remains in return for financial compensation in a joint project with U.S. officials.
 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기