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A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 12 noveMber 2018

2 Koreas complete the disarming of 22 guard posts

By KIM TONG-HYUNG finished removing firearms
Associated Press and troops from a jointly
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) controlled area at the bor-
— The North and South Ko- der village of Panmunjom
rean militaries completed and eventually plan to al-
withdrawing troops and low tourists to freely move
firearms from 22 front-line around there. The Koreas
guard posts on Saturday as have also been clearing
they continue to implement mines from front-line areas
a wide-ranging agreement and plan to start in April
reached in September to their first-ever joint search
reduce tensions across the for remains of soldiers killed
world’s most fortified bor- during the Korean War.
der, a South Korean De- While the Korean militaries
fense Ministry official said. move ahead with tension-
South Korea says the mili- reducing steps, Moon is
tary agreement is an impor- otherwise running out of
tant trust-building step that goodwill gestures toward
would help stabilize peace North Korea, which is under
and advance reconcilia- heavy U.S.-led sanctions
tion between the rivals. But In this Nov. 4, 2018, photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a yellow flag is raised at a over its nuclear weapons
critics say the South risks guard post of South Korea in the demilitarized zone, South Korea. program. Unless the sanc-
conceding some of its con- Associated Press tions are lifted, it would
ventional military strength militarized Zone. reas pledged to eventually named, citing office rules. be impossible for Moon to
before North Korea takes The 248-kilometer (155- withdraw all guard posts The Koreas plan to destroy push ahead with his more
any meaningful steps on mile) border buffer pep- within the DMZ, but to start 20 of the structures by the ambitious plans for en-
denuclearization — an pered with millions of land by removing 11 from each end of November, while gagement, such as recon-
anxiety that’s growing as mines has been the site side as a “preliminary” symbolically leaving one necting railways and roads
the larger nuclear negotia- of occasional skirmishes measure. demilitarized guard post across the border and nor-
tions between Washington between the two forces The South Korean Defense on each side. They plan to malizing operations at a
and Pyongyang seemingly since the 1950-53 Korean Ministry official said soldiers jointly verify the results in jointly run factory park.
drift into a stalemate. War. The North is believed on Saturday completed December. Pyongyang insists that
South Korea reportedly has to have about 160 guard disarming 11 guard posts The Koreas also in the Sep- sanctions should be re-
about 60 guard posts — posts within the DMZ. on the southern side of tember deal agreed to cre- moved before there is any
bunker-like concrete struc- In the September military the DMZ. He said the min- ate buffer zones along their progress in nuclear nego-
tures surrounded with lay- agreement, reached on istry believes the North has land and sea boundaries tiations, while Washington
ers of barbed-wire fences the sidelines of a summit in also finished withdrawing and a no-fly zone above says they will remain until
and manned by soldiers Pyongyang between North personnel and weapons the border, which took ef- the North takes concrete
equipped with machine Korean leader Kim Jong from 11 guard posts on fect on Nov. 1. steps toward irreversibly
guns — stretched across Un and South Korean Presi- the northern side of the The Koreas and the U.S.-led and verifiably relinquishing
the ironically named De- dent Moon Jae-in, the Ko- DMZ. He didn’t want to be U.N. Command recently its weapons.q