South Korea and North Korea hold high-level military talks to ease tensions

General-level military talks at the truce village of Panmunjom. Photo: AP

The meeting, the first since June 14, took place at the Peace House, a South Korean-controlled building in the truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Speaking to reporters before arriving at Panmunjom to participate in the negotiations, Major General Kim Do-gyun, head of the five-member South Korean delegation, said:

“We will make every effort to ensure that practical measures can be taken to reduce military tensions and build trust between the two Koreas through this meeting.”

Meanwhile, the North Korean delegation led by Lieutenant General An Ik-san participated in the negotiations.

The talks are aimed at implementing the agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit, thereby making joint efforts to ease tensions and “practically eliminate the danger of war.”

Observers said the two sides could exchange views on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom, as part of efforts to turn the DMZ into a “peace zone,” an issue the two sides discussed last month.

There is also concern about whether the two sides will discuss Seoul's idea of ​​withdrawing troops and equipment from border posts during a "trial" phase.

The agenda could include consolidating peace around the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border, and a joint project to excavate the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War and left behind in the DMZ, observers said.

During talks last month, for the first time in more than a decade, the two sides agreed to fully restore military communication lines./.