South, North Korea connect border road through DMZ

By Emel Oz Gozellik

Ankara

The two Koreas on Thursday connected a three-kilometer road inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the countries, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The unpaved road will be used to transport personnel and equipment for excavation of 60-year-old battle remains. Of the three-km road, 1.7 km belongs to the South, and 1.3 km to the North.

Under a military pact signed this September by the defense ministers of South and North Korea following a summit, the move aims to support a joint project to excavate Korean War remains at the site of a fierce battle.

“The road was built in Cheorwon, which lies at the very center of the peninsula, for the first time since the Armistice Agreement was signed (to halt the 1950-53 Cold War conflict)," said Seoul’s Defense Ministry in a statement.

"It is also meaningful historically as it paves the way for efforts to practically push for the joint excavation project aimed at healing the scars of war through this road, that was built at the center of one of the fiercest battles."

On Tuesday, South Korean sources reported that North Korea has taken down 10 guard posts in the DMZ.

Prior to the September summit -- the third in a series -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met on April 27, followed by the signing of the historic Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, which has become a formal foundation for further denuclearization of North Korea and a peace deal between the two countries.

The two leaders met again on May 26 and discussed lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.