North and South Korea yesterday held military talks to build trust, while the US detected renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory, casting more suspicion over Pyongyang’s intentions.
The meeting, their second since last month, held in the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), was designed to follow on from an inter-Korean summit in April in which the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse tensions and halt “all hostile acts.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also vowed during the June 12 summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore to work toward denuclearization, but there has not been a concrete agreement to accomplish that goal.
Photo: AFP / South Korean Ministry of National Defense
Kim Do-gyun, the South’s chief negotiator who is in charge of North Korea policy at the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters before leaving for the DMZ that he would make efforts to craft “substantive” measures to ease tensions and build trust.
The two sides are expected to discuss a possible cut in firearms and personnel stationed at the DMZ, as well as a joint excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.
South Korea’s defense ministry last week said it plans to reduce guard posts and equipment along the border as an initial step to implement the agreement.
Ahn Ik-san, the general leading the North Korean delegation at the military talks, noted South Korean news reports suggesting that he might try to persuade the South to push for a joint declaration with the US to formally end the war.
“Before determining whether it is true or not, I realized the people of the North and South regard our talks as important,” Ahn said at the start of the meeting. “And it also emphasized the sense of duty of the times, and the role given to the military in the efforts of the North and South for peace and prosperity.”
Meanwhile, a senior US official on Monday said that US spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the nation’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of reaching the US.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week said that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs.
Trump said soon after his summit with Kim that North Korea no longer posed nuclear threats, but Pyongyang North has offered no details on its plan to denuclearize and subsequent talks have not gone smoothly.
The North’s state media has in recent days chastised the South for failing to move more swiftly to improve inter-Korean relations while paying too much heed to the US.
The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s official party newspaper, yesterday accused Seoul of “wasting time” waiting for sanctions to be lifted only after denuclearization is completed, without “taking a single action” on its own.
It called for steps to facilitate a restart of the previously jointly run, but now closed programs, such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex and tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang resort.
Seoul has said those projects can be resumed when there is progress on Pyongyang’s denuclearization and sanctions are eased.
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