Two Koreas discuss restoring military communication lines
- 6 years ago
남북군사실무접촉, 軍통신선 복구 논의 오전에 종료
Our top story this afternoon.
South and North Korea today held military talks at the working level... about restoring their lines of communication.
We're still waiting to hear the results of those talks, but our Park Hee-jun is on the line with the latest.
Hee-jun, what can you tell us about today's meeting?
Devin.
The inter-Korean military talks began this morning at around 10AM, Korea time,.. and ended rather quickly in about an hour.
They were held at the CIQ, or the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Office located in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province,... just south of the inter-Korean border.
Each delegation had five members-- the South Korean delegation led by Army Colonel Cho Yong-geun,... and the North Korean delegation by Colonel Om Chang-nam.
As you said, we're still waiting to hear the results of the discussion,... which should be revealed anytime now.
But the two sides are known to have discussed fully reconnecting their military communications channels in the East Sea and West Sea districts.
The West Sea channel was severed in 2016 after the shutdown of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex.
It was restored in January for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... but it's only capable of phone communication -- that is, verbal messages only.
As for the East Sea communication lines,... they were suspended in 2011 amid military tensions -- and later destroyed in a wildfire.
The two sides are also likely to have talked about reactivating a naval communication line, that hasn't been used for a decade.
These lines, once restored,... will help the two Koreas avoid possible military conflict, caused by misunderstandings.
The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit, which includes reducing military tension and building trust.
The discussions have even more meaning as today marks the 68th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
That's all I have for now.
I'll make sure to bring you the details of the talks later. Devin.
Our top story this afternoon.
South and North Korea today held military talks at the working level... about restoring their lines of communication.
We're still waiting to hear the results of those talks, but our Park Hee-jun is on the line with the latest.
Hee-jun, what can you tell us about today's meeting?
Devin.
The inter-Korean military talks began this morning at around 10AM, Korea time,.. and ended rather quickly in about an hour.
They were held at the CIQ, or the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Office located in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province,... just south of the inter-Korean border.
Each delegation had five members-- the South Korean delegation led by Army Colonel Cho Yong-geun,... and the North Korean delegation by Colonel Om Chang-nam.
As you said, we're still waiting to hear the results of the discussion,... which should be revealed anytime now.
But the two sides are known to have discussed fully reconnecting their military communications channels in the East Sea and West Sea districts.
The West Sea channel was severed in 2016 after the shutdown of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex.
It was restored in January for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... but it's only capable of phone communication -- that is, verbal messages only.
As for the East Sea communication lines,... they were suspended in 2011 amid military tensions -- and later destroyed in a wildfire.
The two sides are also likely to have talked about reactivating a naval communication line, that hasn't been used for a decade.
These lines, once restored,... will help the two Koreas avoid possible military conflict, caused by misunderstandings.
The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit, which includes reducing military tension and building trust.
The discussions have even more meaning as today marks the 68th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
That's all I have for now.
I'll make sure to bring you the details of the talks later. Devin.