SEOUL: North and South Korea held military talks to build trust on Tuesday, while the United States detected renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory, casting more suspicion over the North’s intentions.
The meeting, their second since June, held in the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), was designed to follow on from an inter-Korean summit in April at which leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse tensions and halt “all hostile acts.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also vowed during his separate summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore last month to work toward denuclearisation, but there has not been a concrete agreement to accomplish that goal.
Kim Do-gyun, the South’s chief negotiator who is in charge of North Korea policy at the defence ministry, told reporters before leaving for the DMZ that he would make efforts to craft “substantive” measures to ease tensions and build trust.
The two sides are expected to discuss a possible cut in firearms and personnel stationed at the DMZ, as well as a joint excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea’s defence ministry said last week it plans to reduce guard posts and equipment along the heavily fortified border as an initial step to implement the agreement. Ahn Ik-san, the general leading the North Korean delegation at the military talks, noted South Korean news reports suggesting that he might try to persuade the South to push for a joint declaration with the United States to formally end the war.
On Monday, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.
Pompeo said last week that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs. (Reuters)
