South Korea proposes military talks with North Korea to ease tensions along border
South Korea renewed its offer Friday to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss their conflicting views on where the inter-Korean border sits, seeking to ease tensions sparked by last month's land mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Yonhap reported.
"Different perceptions remain over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)," Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol said in a press briefing, referring to the border separating the two Koreas.
"South Korea's Defense Ministry 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," he said.
Kim said trilateral dialogue involving the U.N. Command (UNC), which administers and enforces the Armistice Agreement governing the border area, can also be considered.
Seoul and Pyongyang have traded sharp rhetoric since South Korea blamed the North for the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the DMZ that injured three South Korean troops. Pyongyang has denied responsibility and vowed to take military actions along the border if needed.
The latest escalation of tensions comes amid Seoul's suspicions that North Korean forces have repeatedly crossed the MDL to carry out border fortification work, such as erecting fences and laying mines, in potential violation of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
Earlier, South Korea voiced concern over North Korea heightening border tensions with threats.