South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) started general-level military talks Tuesday morning at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss measures to reduce tension in border areas.

 

本周二上午，朝韩两国将军级军事会谈在边境村板门店展开，会谈的主要议题是讨论边境地区减少紧张局势的措施。
 

 

The ninth round of inter-Korean general-grade military dialogue kicked off at 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) at the Peace House, a South Korean building in Panmunjom, according to the joint¹ press corps².

 

It was the first such talks since June 14 when military delegations⁴ from the two sides agreed to completely restore military hotlines along the eastern and western corridors across the inter-Korean border.

 

The five-member South Korean delegation³ was led by Major Gen. Kim Do-gyun, who will join his DPRK counterpart, Lt. Gen. An Ik-san.

 

Kim told reporters before heading for the dialogue venue⁵ that he will make best efforts to alleviate⁶ military tensions between the two Koreas and draw up practical measures to build trust.

 

Military officers from the two sides were expected to discuss measures to implement⁷ the military part of the April 27 agreement, which was reached by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un during their first summit meeting in April at Panmunjom.

 

Moon and Kim agreed to transform the demilitarized zone (DMZ), a heavily armed inter-Korean border separating the two Koreas, into a peace zone, while turning the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a de facto maritime⁸ border, into a maritime peace zone.

 

Seoul has proposed withdrawing forces and equipment from the DMZ on a trial basis, which was also forecast to be on the dialogue agenda for the Tuesday military talks.

 

Also on the agenda would be the joint excavation⁹ of the remains¹⁰ of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

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