Reducing Tensions

[Anchor Lead]

The demilitarized zone is home to multiple guard posts armed with heavy artillery on both sides of the dividing line. As inter-Korean tensions begin to loosen up, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense has announced that troops and equipment at the guard posts will be withdrawn on a trial basis to show that South Korea is putting the Panmunjeom Declaration into action.

[Pkg]

The Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land four kilometers wide, two kilometers to the south and two to the north of the Military Demarcation Line. But several guard posts are housed within the Demilitarized Zone. In some places, the distance between South and North Korean guard posts is only 600 meters. These sentry houses have in essence become advance bases since they are equipped with machine guns and mortars. But now both Koreas will simultaneously test the withdrawal of troops and artillery at these GPs. The two sides had even exchanged gunfire in 2014 over the propaganda leaflets flown northward from South Korea. The test withdrawal aims to reduce the risk of such military clashes. The two sides are likely to discuss which guard posts will be closed down among some 60 locations in the South and 160 in the North. Afterwards, a joint remains recovery project and ecological surveys in the DMZ will be carried out. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense also announced that the number of guards at the Panmunjeom Joint Security Area will be reduced and some of the heavy artillery removed.