On Friday, 23 October, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense proposed talks with North Korea to confirm the exact land demarcation line and restore military communication lines.
Three South Korean soldiers were wounded by mine blasts in the DMZ in September, which the United Nations Command called a violation of the armistice.
North Korea has not replied to an earlier Seoul proposal for talks, and it rejects Seoul's finding that the mines were placed south of the line.
The South Korean army has fired dozens of warning shots in recent months at North Korean soldiers it says crossed into the southern part of the buffer zone.
South Korea's Ministry of National Defense proposed on Friday, 23 October, that the two Koreas hold military talks. The aim is to confirm the exact position of the land military demarcation line (MDL), restore military communication lines and prevent accidental clashes in border areas. Deputy Defence Minister Kim Hong-cheol announced the offer at a press briefing in Seoul. He said the dates and venues could be arranged through Panmunjom, the only point of contact between the two states inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Seoul hopes North Korea gives a positive answer, and the United Nations Command (UNC), the US-led multinational force in South Korea, could also take part.
The offer follows a run of incidents along the border. In September, mine blasts in the DMZ wounded three South Korean soldiers, which the United Nations Command described as a violation of the armistice. Reports differ on the details, and one describes two soldiers seriously injured. Seoul's army concluded that North Korea had placed the mines south of the demarcation line, a finding Pyongyang has rejected. The South Korean army has also fired dozens of warning shots in recent months after reporting North Korean soldiers crossing into the southern part of the buffer zone.
Kim said North Korean troops have crossed the line while building military roads and fences and laying mines near the MDL. Those works have continued in recent years, according to the same account.
North Korea has worked since 2023 to fortify its side of the DMZ, sometimes very close to the line. The defence ministry had already proposed talks to settle disagreements over the line's exact position, but Pyongyang has not replied. The boundary is not precisely marked and runs through remote mountains and dense vegetation, which leads to differing views on where it lies. North Korea has broken off contact with the South for years and has dropped reunification as a national goal.
Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated strongly in recent years. Lee Jae Myung took over the South Korean presidency in 2025, and Seoul shifted toward conciliatory measures. Seoul stopped its border broadcasts and began dismantling fixed loudspeakers at the frontier in 2025. North Korea later suspended its own broadcasts to the South. Pyongyang has described South Korea as its main enemy, and the current proposal is Seoul's latest attempt to open a military channel.
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Seoul's defence ministry wants military talks with Pyongyang to fix the exact position of the land border and avoid accidental clashes, after mine blasts wounded soldiers in September.
AI text based on reports by Mediafax.ro, Le Soir, H Kαθημερινή and other publishers. Published .