South Korea proposes holding border talks with North

SEOUL: South Korea's defence ministry again proposed on Friday (Oct 23) military talks with North Korea in order to agree on the exact location of the land border between the two Koreas and to reduce the risk of accidental clashes.

The proposal, announced by Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Kim Hong-cheol, follows a landmine explosion in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) last month that injured South Korean soldiers.

North Korean troops have been building tactical roads and fences and laying mines near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the DMZ separating the two Koreas in recent years.

Kim said the North's troops had crossed the line in the process.

The ministry proposed talks last November to resolve differences over where the line lies, but Pyongyang has not responded.

South Korean military had concluded that North Korea had buried the mines south of the MDL that caused the blast that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers in September. Pyongyang has rejected those findings.