SEOUL: North and South Korea have agreed to remove guns and guard posts from Panmunjom, the "truce town" that straddles their border, the latest move in a fast-improving relationship.
The announcement comes amid US concerns that the inter-Korean military initiative could undermine defence readiness and comes without substantial progress on North Korea's promised denuclearisation Also known as the Joint Security Area (JSA), Panmunjom is the only place along the border where troops from the two Koreas face each other.
The aim is to reduce tensions between the two countries. Earlier this month, troops from both sides started removing about 800,000 landmines buried along the border, BBC reported.
"The two Koreas and the UNC [US-led United Nations Command] agreed to take measures of withdrawing firearms and military posts from the JSA by 25 October, and for the following two days, the three parties will conduct a joint verification," the South Korean defence ministry in Seoul said in a statement.
The three parties also confirmed the completion of the demining operations in the JSA, it said.
Monday's talks were the second meeting of a trilateral JSA commission made up of the two Koreas and the UN Command, which has overseen affairs in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) since the end of hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The village is used as a meeting point, and the leaders of the two Koreas met there twice this year.
Meanwhile, a group of North Korean officials left for Russia on Monday, the North's official news agency said, amid speculation that leader Kim Jong-un is planning to visit the country later this month or early next month.