hankyoreh

South and North Korea ended their rare high-level military talks on Thursday without any progress towards easing tension between the two sides, as they remained locked in a standoff over their disputed sea border.

The icy mood at the end of the three-day negotiations held at the truce village of Panmunjom signaled that there will be no such inter-Korean talks involving general-grade officers for the time being.

The long-running military gridlock has hampered closer inter-Korean economic and cultural exchanges.

South Korean delegates proposed measures to prevent armed conflicts near the western sea border, including the establishment of a joint fishing zone in the crab-rich waters in the area.

They also called for a permanent security guarantee for cross-border trains and joint development of the mouth of the Han River. With the two railways, one cutting across the western side of the border and the other in the east, set for operations, the two Koreas conducted trial runs of trains in May.

But the North reiterated its demand for a new maritime border to replace the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which has served as the de-facto sea border since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North refuses to recognize the line drawn up unilaterally by United Nations troops.

Pyongyang's delegate Kim Young-chol said the NLL issue is a deal breaker again and alleged that Seoul bears responsibility.

"The South's claim that the NLL is a basic military demarcation line that has been observed so far is a sophistry," the two-star general said during the closing session unusually opened to the media.

He strongly hinted that Pyongyang will boycott future general-grade military talks between the two Koreas, questioning the efficacy of such "fruitless" talks.

"The South seems not to be ready for talks. So to speak, we reached a conclusion that it cannot be a dialogue partner," Kim said.

South Korean negotiators expressed regret.

"It is highly regrettable that we have to wrap up the three days of talks with no concrete results," said Army Maj. Gen. Jeong Seung-jo, head of the South's delegation.

"Your side continued making this demand even though your side knows very well that our side cannot accept it," Jung said, referring to the NLL.

Briefing reporters on the results of the talks later, Col. Moon Sung-mook said the gulf between the two sides on the NLL was too wide to continue talks.

"The North staunchly insisted that it can't continue talks unless the South changes its position on the issue," said the spokesman for the southern delegation.

The two Koreas are technically in a state of war, with nearly 2 million battle-ready troops deployed on both sides of the demarcation line.

They have held general-level military talks on a irregular basis, and this week's round was the sixth of its kind. The two sides failed to set a date for the next round.
SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap News)