Koreas, UN command agreeto demilitarise part of border

SEOUL: The two Koreas and the US-led United Nations Command agreed Monday to demilitarise a section of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula by this week, as a diplomatic thaw gathers pace. “The three parties agreed to carry out measures to withdraw firearms and guard posts at the Joint Security Area (JSA) by October 25,” Seoul´s defence ministry said in a statement following trilateral talks. They will then conduct a “three-way joint verification” for the following two days, it added. The JSA, also known as the truce village of Panmunjom, is the only spot along the tense, 250-kilometre (155-mile) frontier where troops from the two countries stand face to face.