Two Koreas, UN to Discuss Demining, Disarming of Border Area

North, South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) will commence discussions Tuesday on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the fortified border between the two countries.

The meeting is to open at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone at 10 a.m., the South Korean Defence Ministry said, according to Korea Herald.

South and North Korea had agreed to turn the JSA into a weapon-free zone under the military agreement signed by their defense chiefs during the Pyongyang summit in September between President Moon Jae-in and the North's leader Kim Jong-un.

The UNC has jurisdiction over the JSA which was established to give effect to a truce after the 1950-53 Korean War.

As part of the peace process, the two Koreas started a 20-day operation to remove landmines in the JSA on October 1.

The Koreas and the UNC plan to review the results of the landmine removal operation and details of ways to implement the agreement to disarm the JSA.

Also on the agenda are the pullout of troops and firearms from guard posts at the JSA and verification. The South and the North plan to withdraw four and five guard posts respectively from the JSA post which a patrol of unarmed 35 soldiers will be stationed there.

Citizens of the two Koreas and foreign tourists will be allowed to cross the military demarcation line from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. "Concrete forms of implementation will be decided via discussions at the three-way council," the ministry said in statements quoted in the South Korea media.

Seoul has already dismantled propaganda loudspeakers from the border and the north has stopped sending drones to drop leaflets as part of the peace process.