Politics
11:17, 12-Dec-2018
ROK, DPRK verify guard posts pullout across border
Updated
10:14, 15-Dec-2018
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The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) verified the pullout of 11 guard posts each across the inter-Korean border on Wednesday inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has left the Korean Peninsula divided since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in an armistice.
Eleven ROK teams, comprising of seven soldiers each, crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) into the DPRK territory to conduct onsite verification. Similarly, in the afternoon, the DPRK sent 11 seven-member teams to the ROK side.
The two sides initially agreed to demolish 11 guard posts in the DMZ but decided later to keep one unarmed in light of their historical value.
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The verification staff's tasks include checking if all weapons and troops were pulled out and whether all underground facilities are disarmed.
"The two Koreas' troops are making cross-border paths in the DMZ and moving across the MDL peacefully. ... This is the first such case since the country's division," ROK's defense ministry said in a press release.
"This clearly shows the will of the two Koreas' military authorities to implement their accord," it added.
The military agreement was signed by the defense chiefs of the two sides during the Pyongyang summit in September between ROK President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.
(Cover photo: ROK soldiers lock a military gate as they withdraw from a border guard post at an undisclosed area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), November 9, 2018. /VCG Photo)