S.Korea, DPRK Not to Resume Mines Clearance in DMZ

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 25, 2002

S.Korea, DPRK Not to Resume Mines Clearance in DMZ

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South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are unlikely to resume mine-removing operations in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) soon after suspension of the work aroused by UN-DPRK disputes on the inspection issue.

According to a news release of the Defense Ministry of South Korea on Monday, the DPRK rejected South Korea's last Friday's proposal for the two sides conducting the planned cross-border inspection last Saturday.

When South Korea told the DPRK in a telephone message on last Friday that the United Nations Command (UNC) approved the list of DPRK's inspectors and asked it for a similar approval of the DPRK military authorities, the DPRK insisted the cross-inspection is meaningless if it is done with a condition that the UNC meddles inthe administrative area inside the DMZ for the linking of inter-Korean railways and roads, said the release.

As schedule, South Korea and the DPRK military should exchange inspectors to verify the removal of landmines for construction of cross-border railways and roads in the DMZ.

But the UNC's demand for both sides' lists of the inspectors yielded a hurdle for the joint inspection two weeks ago. And the landmines clearance work has been suspended since that time.

The DPRK denounced the UNC's request, saying the agreement reached between militaries of South Korea and the DPRK in September does not ink such content, and the UNC should not interfere in the mine removal works, said the release.

The UNC and the South Korean military reached agreement to dealwith the "verification" issue of the landmines clearance in the DMZ with "simplified" method on Nov. 19, which means the UNC will acquire the list of the DPRK's inspectors via the South Korean part.

South Korea and the DPRK have already exchanged their respective lists of personnel who will cross the border to inspectthe progress of the mine-clearing work.

"Regardless of whether the cross-inspection will be conducted, the government's position remains unchanged that the project of linking the inter-Korean railways and roads should be kept alive,"Lt. Gen. Cha Young-koo, director of the Defense Ministry's policy planning bureau, was quoted by the South Korean news agency YonhapNews as saying.

The two sides earlier agreed to complete the reconnection of the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) railway and its adjacent roads by theend of the year and the next spring, respectively.

They also agreed to reconnect the initial 27 km line of the Donghae railway, linking eastern coastal cities across the border,and its 14.2 km adjacent road within a one-year time span.

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