S. Korea launches discussions on Park's vision to turn DMZ into peace park

South Korea has launched inter-agency discussions on how to implement President Park Geun-hye's recently unveiled vision to create an international park inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the South from North Korea, an official said Sunday.

Park unveiled the vision during a speech at a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, saying the DMZ "must live up to its name, a zone that strengthens peace, not undermines it." The DMZ is a four-kilometer-wide buffer between the two Koreas, one of the world's most heavily fortified borders.

"Related government agencies are discussing how to realize the peace park establishment plan," a government official said. "We're at a stage where we are having internal discussions about proposals to put forward in negotiations with North Korea."

Related agencies include the unification ministry, the defense ministry, the land ministry and the environment ministry. The unification ministry will be tasked with negotiations with the North while the defense ministry will be handling working-level military negotiations.

The government is also considering asking private organizations, which have called for a peaceful use of the DMZ, to take part in the discussions in order to learn of their ideas and know-how, officials said.

Despite the move, the widespread view is that it will be difficult to carry out the project any time soon because of heightened tensions with North Korea. Analysts agree that improvement in inter-Korean relations is a precondition for the project.