The militaries of South Korea and North Korea has begun removing a small portion of landmines planted across a heavily fortified border area on Monday, an operation which marks the realization of the agreement previously reached by the two Korean neighbors during the Pyongyang summit last month. The pact signed between NoKor and SoKor is aimed to build trust and ease the tension felt in the Korean region.
Citing the official statement given by the South Korean military, the report from Korea Herald said that the removal operations happened at two sites in the Demilitarized Zone, or as famously being referred to as DMZ.
The sites of operation are in the Joint Security Area (JSA) which lies at the border village of Panmunjom and at the Arrow Head Hill which is in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province.
Further details provided over at Inquirer described the clearing operation that involved military personnel in full protective gear and armed with nothing but wire cutters, metal detectors, and air pressurizer.
The mission to define the area is in line for the much larger plan to excavate the remains of the soldiers or civilians killed during the bloody Korean War in 1950 to 1953.
Towards the end of the war, a fierce battle was fought in this area between the joint military forces of North Korea and China against the alliance of South Korea, the US and the United Nations. The skirmish resulted in lots of deaths to number more than a thousand.
There were about 2 million pieces of this explosive device buried throughout the DMZ. Traversing the so-called no man's land is in itself a feat as it measured 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide.
In an interview with an Army general who divulged information to the press in the condition of anonymity, safety is the topmost priority of the group tasked to carry out the mission.
According to the official, the majority of the landmines in the area are unaccounted for. This means that they don't know if the bombs they come across with are still live or have already exploded.
Aside from the removal of the mines, the deal also requires involved parties to remove guard posts and de-weaponize the troops posted in the JSA.
International forces like the United Nations Command, in particular, have declined to confirm if they are part in the withdrawal of weapons in the JSA.
While the South Korean army has already started the operation on its side, the Reuters report said that North Korea is yet to release confirmation if its troops have also begun the process.
