The Demilitarized Zone and Gaeseong Industrial Advanced in Kaesong, North Korea, is seen from the border metropolis of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Nov. 18. Yonhap
South Korea is formalizing preparations for potential inter-Korean dialogue, shifting to ascertain a specialised job pressure of veteran negotiators regardless of North Korea’s continued silence.
The Ministry of Nationwide Protection mentioned Friday that the brand new job pressure will give attention to sustaining “professionalism and continuity” in future navy talks, together with stalled discussions over the Navy Demarcation Line (MDL). Protection officers additionally held a workshop with the Ministry of Unification on the Workplace of Inter-Korean Dialogue to bolster preparedness for potential talks with North Korea.
“The ministry plans to kind a preparatory job pressure centered on officers with prior expertise to boost the professionalism and continuity of inter-Korean navy talks,” the protection ministry mentioned in a press release.
The ministry additionally expressed hope {that a} communication channel aimed toward easing navy tensions between the 2 Koreas might be established quickly.
As a part of efforts to strengthen institutional legitimacy, the ministry mentioned it plans to revive its North Korea Coverage Division, which is presently named the North Korea Technique Division. Underneath the earlier Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the unit centered totally on sanctions towards Pyongyang.
The renewed push follows the protection ministry’s formal proposal on Nov. 17 for navy talks to ascertain a mutually acknowledged baseline for the MDL, aimed toward stopping unintended clashes alongside the border. The supply got here after a number of incidents in current months during which North Korean troopers crossed into the southern aspect of the Demilitarized Zone.
This marked South Korea’s first formal request for navy talks with the North in seven years. Pyongyang has but to answer the proposal.
The MDL was drawn beneath the 1953 Armistice Settlement that halted the Korean Battle, with greater than 1,200 markers initially positioned alongside the boundary. Over the many years, climate and erosion have decreased the variety of clearly identifiable markers to roughly 200.
Since April final yr, North Korea has deployed troops close to the MDL to plant mines and reinforce barbed wire fences. This adopted North Korean chief Kim Jong-un’s declaration in late 2023, defining South Korea because the regime’s “No.1 enemy state.”
Based on South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Employees, North Korean troops have crossed the border 26 occasions since final yr throughout these operations, together with 17 incidents reported this yr alone.
