Mine removal operation in Panmunjom’s JSA completed

Posted on : 2018-10-20 16:07 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
South and North Korea to begin removing troops from GPs next week
South Korean troops in a mine removal operation near a guard post (GP) in the DMZ in Cheorwon County
South Korean troops in a mine removal operation near a guard post (GP) in the DMZ in Cheorwon County

The operation to clear mines from the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom has effectively been completed. Next week, the two sides are expected to begin removing troops from guard posts (GPs).

“The clearing of mines, which is the first step toward demilitarizing the JSA, has basically ended. We’re told that the North Koreans are also in the final stages,” a South Korean military official said on Oct. 19. In a military agreement reached last month, South and North Korea said they would remove all mines from the JSA by Oct. 20. During the mine removal work that has continued since Oct. 1, North Korea has apparently removed five mines, while South Korea has not turned up any mines.

Since the mine clearing operations have gone smoothly, South and North Korea, along with the UN Command, are planning to immediately begin removing GPs, troops and firearms from the JSA. According to the military agreement, which South and North Korea signed on Sept. 19, all the GPs, staff and firearms on both sides are supposed to be removed five days after the mines have been cleared.

North Korea currently has five GPs inside the JSA, while South Korea has four. After all the posts are gone, the two sides will set up alternating GPs at the northern and southern entrances to the JSA. South Koreans will install a GP at the end of Panmunjom Bridge, at the northern entrance, while North Koreans will install one at the southern entrance. All the weaponry in the possession of South and North Korean troops – including machine guns, AK-47 rifles, K-2 rifles and handguns – will be removed from the JSA.

In a press release issued on Friday, the UN Command said it had verified the mine removal work that had taken place thus far at Panmunjom as part of the Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain (also called the Comprehensive Military Agreement, or CMA) in close cooperation with the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff and that it supported the next practical steps that South and North Korea would take to implement the military agreement.

“Yesterday's UN Command verification of initial mine clearance operations in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) lays the foundation for future progress on the CMA [Comprehensive Military Agreement] implementation,” said Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of the UN Command.

Brooks added that the UN Command would deliberate closely with South and North Korea to work on implementing the other terms of the agreement.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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