Removal of mines from DMZ signifies improvement in inter-Korean relations
  • 5 years ago
There's a good reason why President Moon called for the international community's cooperation in removing landmines from the DMZ... to turn the area into a global peace zone.
It's because the area is littered with unexploded mines... but the South Korean military is doing what it can to remove them.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
The removal of mines from the Demilitarized Zone is one of the most obvious operations that symbolizes the improvement in inter-Korean relations because it almost always requires the consent of both Koreas.
The demining operations are necessary to carry out various other inter-Korean projects agreed to by the two Koreas... including the joint removal of DMZ guard posts, the excavation of Korean War remains and joint research of cultural heritages along the border.
The South Korean military conducted mine removal operations from 2000 to 2005... for the test-run of two cross-border railways... a project that finally became a reality at a groundbreaking ceremony last December.
According to data from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff... the military removed some 17-hundred mines over an area of 850-thousand square-meters near the path of North Korea's Gyeongui railway line.
It then destroyed around 250 mines planted in the 130-thousand square-meters of land near the Donghae railway line.
The South Korean military has also removed mines at Arrowhead Ridge... for the excavation of Korean War remains... following the signing of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement last September.
Through its demining experiences, the South Korean military says their clearance is not an easy task as it demands a lot of manual labor.
Locating them in the first place also presents a daunting task.
Maps indicating where the mines were initially placed become useless over time as their accuracy drops... since the mines often shift due to erosion... following floods, heavy rain and landslides.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
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