Seoul proposes military talks with Pyongyang to prevent border clashes

South Korea’s Defence Ministry announced that it has proposed military talks with North Korea aimed at establishing a clearer baseline along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to reduce the risk of accidental clashes.

“The South Korean military formally proposes to hold military talks with North Korea to discuss setting a baseline for the military demarcation line to prevent accidental clashes between the two Koreas and ease military tensions,” said Kim Hong-cheol, South Korea’s deputy defence minister for national defence policy, in a televised statement, CNA reports.

Kim noted that North Korea has been laying mines, constructing roads, and erecting barbed-wire fences along its side of the border. Additionally, some North Korean soldiers have repeatedly crossed into South Korean territory, raising concerns of potential confrontations.

“This situation is believed to be due to the loss of many of the military demarcation line markers installed at the time of the signing of the armistice agreement in 1953, and the South and the North have different perceptions of the boundary in some areas,” Kim explained.

Although open fighting ceased following the 1950–1953 Korean War armistice, deadly clashes have occasionally occurred over the decades. South Korea reported an uptick in North Korean activity along the MDL, with intrusions exceeding 10 incidents this year, compared with fewer than 10 for all of 2024. North Korean forces have also been installing landmines, erecting barriers, and creating wasteland along the front line since last year.

With all direct military communication channels between the two Koreas severed, Seoul’s proposal is expected to be conveyed to Pyongyang through the United Nations Command.

North Korea has not responded to South Korea’s overtures since Kim Jong Un declared the two Koreas as separate, “hostile” nations at the end of 2023.

By Vafa Guliyeva