Our top story this morning...
The two Koreas and the UN Command have agreed to withdraw guard posts and firearms at the Joint Security Area by Thursday.
It's the latest significant step toward building trust and hopefully lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Park Ji-won starts us off.
Military officials from South Korea, North Korea and the United Nations Command,... held talks on Monday for about three hours,...at the Freedom House in Panmunjeom. The meeting aimed to verify the completion of the 20-day demining work that began at the Joint Security Area at the start of October,.. as well as discuss the reduction of the number of guard posts and security personnel.
"This meeting aims to verify and evaluate the demining process at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjeom,... and to discuss the timeline and details of how to jointly examine the removal of firearms, reduction of guard posts and adjustment of the number of patrolling personnel in the area."
This was the second three-way meeting this month,... following last week's very first meeting between the three sides.
Last month's comprehensive military agreement, signed by the defense ministers of the two Koreas,.... states that the three parties will completely withdraw guard posts, personnel and firearms within five days of the completion of minesweeping at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjeom.
Thus, according to the agreement, the three sides decided Monday that they will complete the withdrawal of firearms and guard posts within the JSA by October 25. This will be followed by a two-day joint onsite inspection and evaluation of the withdrawal.
Meanwhile, another set of general-level inter-Korean military talks will be held this Friday on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom,.. to further discuss the ongoing projects related to the implementation of last month's comprehensive military agreement.
The two sides are also expected to discuss how to form and conduct the 'Inter-Korean Joint Military Committee,'... through which the two Koreas had agreed to discuss major military issues, including large-scale military exercises, various forms of blockade, and the prohibition of reconnaissance activities.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.