North Korea, South Korea, and the United Nations Command (UNC) met to discuss ways of implementing a comprehensive military agreement that would eventually lead to the disarmament of the Joint Security Area
North Korea, South Korea, and the United Nations Command (UNC) met Monday to further discuss plans to disarm the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It follows a meeting last week where the three parties discussed ways of implementing a comprehensive military agreement signed during the third inter-Korean summit to achieve that goal.
United Nations Command deputy commander Lt. General Wayne Eyre said the UNC will adapt its mission to support current diplomatic efforts, and experts called for the organization to play an active role as the Koreas move toward reshaping the heavily fortified border into a peace zone.
Pyeongtaek University Professor Yun Jiwon tells VOA demilitarization has been an ongoing topic since the early 1990s between the Koreas, but until now, the right conditions to do so haven’t been present.
The meeting Monday was “aimed at checking and evaluating the status of demining operations at the JSA and consulting over schedules for withdrawing firearms and guard posts and adjusting guard personnel, as well as future plans for mutual verifications,“ Seoul’s defense ministry said in a statement.
As with the October 16 meeting, it was facilitated by North and South Korean colonel-level military officials and a member from the United Nations Command.
Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, Commander of United Nations Command said in a statement the talks last week “joined the existing Armistice mechanisms used by the Korean People’s Army and the United Nations Command, with the more recent Korean People’s Army and Republic of Korea military dialogue to further advance implementation of the CMA (Comprehensive Military Agreement).“
A pathway to peace
During the September Pyongyang summit, the two Koreas agreed to remove 11 guard posts within a 1 kilometer radius of the Military Demarcation Line by the end of this year.
