Seoul offers military talks to Pyongyang amid tensions on Korean Peninsula

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea on Friday sought military talks after tensions erupted on the Korean Peninsula following last month’s explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

“Different perceptions remain over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL)," Deputy Defense Minister Kim Hong-cheol told reporters in Seoul, according to Yonhap News.

“South Korea's Defense Ministry hereby officially proposes holding inter-Korean military talks with North Korean authorities to jointly verify the locations of the land-based MDL, restore military communication lines and discuss measures to prevent accidental clashes along the border," he added.

Verbal exchanges between the divided Koreas have escalated since Sept. 21, when three South Korean soldiers were wounded in an explosion inside the DMZ.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang, which rejected the accusations.

Kim also offered to include the US-led UN Command (UNC), which administers and enforces the Armistice Agreement governing the border area, in proposed talks with Pyongyang.

"If necessary, a trilateral meeting including the UNC is also possible," he said. "We expect a positive response from the North's side.”

The 1950s inter-Korean war ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty, technically keeping the two sides of the MDL in a state of war.

According to South Korean lawmakers, Pyongyang has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024.

Under a mutual defense pact, some 39,000 American soldiers, along with military assets, are deployed in South Korea.

After decades of improvement in bilateral ties, communication lines across the DMZ have yet to be restored following the administration of Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted from presidential office last year over his failed bid to impose martial law.

Riyaz Khaliq Khaliq