Two Koreas set for military talks this week

Two Koreas set for military talks this week

SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea will resume their general-level military talks this week to discuss a joint fishing area on the disputed inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea and other issues of military concern, defense officials said Monday.
혻 혻 The fresh round of talks, the sixth of its kind, which opens Tuesday at the truce village of Panmunjom for a three-day run, will be the first general-grade military contact between the two sides since Pyongyang pulled the plug on its main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, earlier this month as an initial denuclearization step under an agreement reached last February.
혻혻 In six-party talks in Beijing last week, the North, however, failed to agree to a schedule for declaring and disabling its nuclear programs in the second phase of the agreement and called for its talk partners to provide it with light-water nuclear reactors before the dismantlement of its nuclear facilities.
This week's military talks are to focus on how to follow up on agreements reached in the previous round in May, officials said.
혻혻 At that time, the two sides agreed to continue talks on a joint fishing zone in the West Sea, the direct passage of cargo ships across the Northern Limit Line (NLL), and joint developments in the mouth of the Han River.
혻혻 The NLL has served as a de-facto maritime border between the two Koreas, but Pyongyang has refused to recognize the line drawn unilaterally by the United Nations at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
혻혻 The perennial dispute over the NLL in the waters rich in crabs led to bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
혻혻 Defense officials here hope the North's softened stance in the six-way talks will spill over into the military discussions.
혻 혻 "The inter-Korean military talks are not directly related to the nuclear issue. But progress in the six-way talks may help create a rather good mood for discussions," a senior Defense Ministry official said, asking not to be named.
혻혻 The five-member South Korean delegation to the talks will be led by Army Maj. Gen. Jeong Seung-jo. His counterpart will be two-star general Kim Yong-chol.
혻혻 lcd@yna.co.kr
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