South Korea proposes talks with North Korea military to avoid clashes on border

South Korea’s defence ministry said on Monday that it has proposed talks with North Korea’s military to discuss setting a clearer boundary along the military demarcation line between the two Koreas to avoid the risk of potential military clashes.

“The South Korean military formally proposes to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss setting a baseline for the military demarcation line to prevent accidental clashes between the two Koreas and ease military tensions,” Kim Hong-cheol, South Korea’s deputy defence minister for national defence policy, said in a televised statement.

“This situation is believed to be due to the loss of many of the military demarcation line markers installed at the time of the signing of the armistice agreement in 1953, and the South and the North have different perceptions of the boundary in some areas,” Kim said.

According to the South Korean defence ministry, North Korean soldiers had intruded onto the South Korean side 10 or more times so far this year.

North Korean soldiers have been installing landmines and barriers and creating wasteland along the front line since last year, the South Korean military said.

Because all direct military communications between North and South Korea have been cut off, the proposal for talks is expected to be sent through United Nations Command to the North, the Yonhap News Agency said.