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| South Korean Army soldiers leave a guard post located in the inter-Korean border area, Friday. The two Koreas finished withdrawing firearms and troops from 11 guard posts on each side, Saturday. / Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense |
By Lee Min-hyung
The two Koreas completed withdrawing firearms and soldiers from 11 guard posts respectively on each side as of Saturday, as part of joint efforts to disarm inter-Korean border area, the Ministry of National Defense said Sunday.
"Military authorities from the two Koreas finished withdrawing firearms, military equipment and troops at the guard posts to fulfill a joint military agreement signed on the sidelines of the inter-Korean summit in September," the ministry said in a statement.
The two Koreas plan to destroy 20 out of the 22 guard posts by the end of this month. They will maintain one post on each side, according to the ministry.
After destroying the posts, the Koreas will conduct a joint verification sometime in December to check whether the posts have been completely destroyed, the ministry said.
The latest achievement came a few weeks after the two Koreas finished disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the border area last month, in a move to ease the military tension and remain consistent with the joint military agreement.
The Comprehensive Military Agreement was signed during the third-ever inter-Korean summit this year between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang in September.
Both sides reached a consensus in taking concrete steps to alleviate tension and prevent any possible armed conflicts near the border areas.
On Saturday, Robert Abrams, the new chief of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), also visited the JSA with South Korean head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Park Han-ki, to observe firsthand the implementation of the inter-Korean military agreement.
"The Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance remains ironclad and will continue to play an important role in preventing armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula and promote peace and stability in the region for many decades to come," Abrams said.
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