South Korea proposes military talks with North Korea to prevent possible clashes at border

Seoul, Nov 17 South Korea on Monday proposed holding military talks with North Korea to discuss how to clarify the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in a bid to prevent possible clashes near the inter-Korean border.

The proposal came as North Korean soldiers -- including those who were armed -- have temporarily, albeit repeatedly, crossed the MDL on several occasions while working near the border, such as clearing land or laying mines in the buffer zone.

It marks Seoul's first official proposal for talks with the North since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June, with a pledge to mend frayed ties with the North and create conditions for dialogue.

"Our military officially suggests holding inter-Korean talks between military authorities to discuss how to establish the Military Demarcation Line, to prevent accidental clashes and ease military tensions," Kim Hong-cheol, deputy minister for national defence policy, said in a statement, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"We anticipate the North's positive and swift response to our proposal, aimed at reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and restoring military trust," Kim said, adding that Seoul is open to discussing details of the talks, including its venue and schedule.

Since April last year, North Korea has deployed troops near the MDL within the Demilitarised Zone to plant mines, erect anti-tank barriers, and reinforce barbed wire fences after the country's leader Kim Jong-un described inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023.

North Korean troops are known to have intruded over the border about 10 times this year alone, including in October when two North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border in an attempt to chase another North Korean soldier defecting to the South.

In response, the South Korean military has broadcast a warning message when North Korean troops moved close to the MDL and subsequently fired warning shots when they violated the boundary.

In the statement, Kim, the ministry official, said the MDL violations appear to have occurred as indicators marking the land border -- that were installed in 1953, a month after the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War -- have been lost.

Nearly 1,300 markers, comprising signs on concrete posts that stand roughly 1 meter tall, were installed, but only about one-sixth of them are identifiable.

Alongside the proposal for the military talks, the military has removed border loudspeakers and suspended airing propaganda broadcasts as part of efforts to restore inter-Korean trust.

But it remains to be seen whether the North, which has remained unresponsive to Lee's call for dialogue, will respond to the proposal.

In August, North Korea denounced the South for firing warning shots at North Korean soldiers, urging Seoul to stop its "premeditated and deliberate" provocations that are "inciting military conflict."

If held, it will mark the first inter-Korean military talks since the two Koreas held general-level military talks in 2018. They have held two ministerial-level talks and 40 working-level talks since 2000, according to the ministry.

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