South Korea's military planned to facilitate tension reduction with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) next year, the defense ministry said Thursday in its 2019 policy report to President Moon Jae-in.

The ministry said in the report that it will continue to enforce the comprehensive military agreement with the DPRK, which was signed by defense chiefs of the two Koreas during the Pyongyang summit in September between Moon and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

The South Korean military planned to push for discussion with the DPRK next year about the withdrawal of all the guard posts inside the DMZ to reduce tension and build trust between the two Koreas.

South Korea and the DPRK reportedly have about 50 and 150 guard posts each inside the DMZ which has left the Korean Peninsula divided since the three-year Korean War ended in 1953 with armistice.

The Seoul military aimed to launch a joint military committee with the DPRK in the first half of next year to discuss military issues such as setting a maritime peace zone near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the western waters.

Pyongyang has denied the NLL as a sea boundary as it was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led UN troops by the end of the Korean War.

South Korea and the DPRK also agreed Thursday to conduct a joint inspection on roads along the DPRK's eastern coast ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony next week to modernize and connect railways and roads across the border, Seoul's unification ministry said.

The 10-member South Korean working-level delegation will visit the DPRK Friday to inspect the 100-km road along the DPRK's east coast from Goseong to Wonsan for three days.

After returning home Sunday, the working-level officials will visit the DPRK again Monday to inspect the 4-km road near the DPRK's western border town of Kaesong together with DPRK officials.

The joint survey on the DPRK western road was completed in August, but the two sides agreed to do it again to complete the previous inspection, according to the Seoul ministry.

It would come ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony at the Panmun Station in Kaesong on Dec. 26 to modernize and eventually connect railways and roads along the eastern and western Korean Peninsula.

The two sides completed the 18-day joint inspection earlier this month on the western and eastern rail lines of the DPRK.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed in their April summit at the truce village of Panmunjom to connect the inter-Korean railways and roads. The leaders agreed in Pyongyang summit in September to hold the groundbreaking ceremony before the end of this year.

The Seoul ministry said it had closely consulted with the United States and the United Nations to avoid violating international sanctions on Pyongyang.

The groundbreaking ceremony itself was not in violation of the sanctions, but bringing construction equipment to the ceremony could be subject to restrictions.