South Korea proposes to North Korea military negotiations

A South Korea has today proposed to North Korea to conduct military negotiations on the demarcation line at the heart of the Demilitarised Zone that separates them after several serious incidents.

Seoul “officially proposes to conduct military negotiations with North Korea to mutually confirm the precise location of the land military demarcation line,” said Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol.

The aim is “to discuss ways of restoring military communication lines and preventing accidental clashes in border areas,” the leader added during a press conference in Seoul.

“ The specific dates and locations can be discussed via Panmunjom,” Kim said, referring to the only point of contact between the two Koreas, located in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone, north of Seoul, known as DMZ.

Seoul “expects a positive response from North Korea,” added the Deputy Defense Minister.

Kim stressed that discussions could eventually include United Nations Command, the multinational force led by the United States in South Korea.

North Korea broke all contacts with South Korea years ago.

Since 2023, the country has been dedicated to fortifying its side of the DMZ, a buffer zone created at the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), renouncing any prospect of reunification of the Korean Peninsula and becoming an enemy state.

Fortification works, which sometimes occur very close to the demarcation line, have led to several incidents in recent months.

In September, three South Korean soldiers were injured by the explosion of two North Korean mines in DMZ. Seoul stated that the artifacts had been placed on its side of the border, alleging that Pyongyang categorically denied.

In addition, in recent months, the South Korean army has carried out dozens of warning shots after what it described as raids by North Korean soldiers on its side of the buffer zone.

The demarcation line between the two Koreas, which often cross remote, mountainous and dense vegetation, does not have a precise demarcation, which generates differences of interpretation between the two sides.