South Korea's defence ministry again proposed military talks with North Korea on Friday in order to agree on the exact location of the land border between the two Koreas and to reduce the risk of accidental clashes, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via WTBX
“South Korea's Ministry of National Defense hereby officially proposes holding inter-Korean military talks with North Korean authorities to jointly verify the locations of the land-based MDL, restore military communication lines and discuss measures to prevent accidental clashes along the border,” Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol said in a press briefing, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing Yonhap. Kim added that a trilateral meeting including the United Nations Command, which administers the Armistice Agreement governing the border area, could also be considered. “We expect a positive response from the North's side,” he said.
Source: Korea JoongAng Daily (Yonhap)
The proposal follows a landmine explosion in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) last month that injured South Korean soldiers, Reuters reported. Aju Press reported the September 21 blast injured three South Korean soldiers and that a South Korean military investigation concluded the explosion was caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). Pyongyang has rejected those findings, Reuters reported.
The MDL runs through the DMZ separating the two Koreas since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Seoul says the two sides hold different perceptions of where the line lies in places — and that North Korean troops building roads and fences and laying mines near it in recent years have crossed the line in the process, raising the risk that a mistake turns into a clash.
North Korean troops have been building tactical roads and fences and laying mines near the MDL in recent years, and Kim said the North's troops had crossed the line in the process, Reuters reported. South Korea's military estimates North Korea has planted approximately 960,000 land mines in the DMZ area since 2024, Aju Press reported, citing multiple lawmakers' offices on the National Assembly's defence committees on Friday.
Seoul first proposed talks last November to resolve differences over where the line lies, but Pyongyang has not responded, Reuters reported. The renewed offer comes a day after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader, warned that the North would place anti-South Korea loudspeakers on standby along the entire border within days — threats Reuters said raised tensions along the frontier to their highest level since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June last year.
There was no immediate North Korean response to Friday's renewed proposal in the reports. South Korea's defence ministry said it would take “proportionate measures” if North Korea acted on its loudspeaker threats, Reuters reported on Thursday, while Seoul's military and Unification Ministry urged the North to return to talks to resolve differences.
What is solid
- South Korea's defence ministry formally proposed inter-Korean military talks on Friday to jointly verify the land MDL, restore military communication lines and prevent accidental clashes — defence ministry briefing reported by Reuters, Yonhap and Aju Press
- Seoul first proposed such talks last November and Pyongyang has not responded, Reuters reported
- North Korean troops have built tactical roads and fences and laid mines near the MDL in recent years, Reuters reported
What is only claimed
- Who planted the mines behind last month's DMZ blast — Seoul's military investigation concluded they were North Korean mines planted south of the MDL; Pyongyang has rejected those findings
- How many soldiers the September blast injured — Reuters reported two seriously injured; Aju Press reported three injured in a September 21 explosion