Two Koreas, UN Command discuss disarming Joint Security Area in DMZ

The two Koreas and the United Nations Command (UNC) will launch trilateral consultations Tuesday on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the heavily fortified border area between North and South Korea, Seoul's defense ministry announced.

The closed-door meeting is to open at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at 10 a.m., it said.

South and North Korea agreed to disarm the JSA under the military agreement signed by their countries' defense chiefs during the Pyongyang summit in September between President Moon Jae-in and the North's leader Kim Jong-un.

The UNC has jurisdiction over the JSA, where South and North Korean forces stand face to face.

The JSA was established just after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. It has also served as the venue for talks between the two sides, including the first Moon-Kim summit in April.

On Oct. 1, the two sides started a 20-day effort to remove landmines in the JSA.

Through the consultations at the three-way council, the Koreas and the UNC plan to review the results of the landmine removal operation and details of ways to implement the agreement to disarm the JSA, officials said.

Other measures to be taken include the pullout of troops and firearms from guard posts at the JSA and verification.

South Korea will be represented by Army Col. Cho Yong-geun and his North Korean counterpart will be Army Col. Om Chang-nam.

The UNC's delegation will be headed by U.S. Army Col. Burke Hamilton, the Military Armistice Committee secretary. (Yonhap)