Neighbors discuss moves to ease military tension

SEOUL - Generals from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea met on Tuesday at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss measures to reduce tension in border areas.

It was the first such talks since June 14, when delegations from the two sides agreed to completely restore military hotlines along the eastern and western corridors across the inter-Korean border.

The five-member ROK contingent was led by Major General Kim Do-gyun and the DPRK delegation was headed by Lieutenant General An Ik-san.

The two sides had been expected to discuss a possible cut in firearms and personnel stationed at the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, a heavily fortified inter-Korean border separating the neighbors, as well as a joint excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Kim said before the talks that he will make his best efforts to alleviate military tensions between the two countries and draw up practical measures to build trust.

During the landmark April 27 summit, ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un agreed to transform the DMZ and the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border, into peace zones.

Since then, the two neighbors have dismantled their frontline propaganda loudspeakers, restored the military hotlines and held their first general-level talks since 2007.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war. Pyongyang has long argued its nukes are aimed at coping with US military threats, saying it wants to sign a peace treaty with the United States to formally end the war. That could then allow the DPRK to demand the pullout of 28,500 US troops deployed in the ROK.

On Friday, Pyongyang returned dozens of remains of US soldiers missing from the Korean War, something that Kim promised during a June summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore.

Trump thanked Kim for "fulfilling a promise" to repatriate the remains and said it was a step in the right direction following their summit.

During the Singapore meeting, Kim also committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Xinhua - AP