South Korea Seeks Border Talks With North Korea After Recent Explosions

South Korea has proposed to hold talks with North Korea on Friday to reduce the accidental clashes and to agree on the exact location of the land border between the two ​Nations.

Al Jazeera reported that South Korea plans to discuss restoring military communication channels and preventing accidental clashes near the border with North Korea, Deputy Minister for National Defence Policy Kim Hong-cheol told reporters.

The talks would also seek to “mutually confirm” the exact location of the land Military Demarcation Line (MDL). Kim said, “Specific dates and locations could be discussed through Panmunjom,” a village on the border of the two nations where armies are standing in a face-off.

He said Seoul was also willing to hold trilateral discussions with the US-led United Nations Command and was waiting for “a positive response from North Korea.”

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence warned on Friday that leaving the issue unresolved could lead to further incidents, saying it was difficult to predict “what further incidents could occur if this situation is allowed to continue unaddressed”.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has urged Pyongyang to resume talks, but Kim Yo Jong dismissed the proposal for direct discussions between the two countries, calling it “the climax of the farce,” according to Al Jazeera.

Reason Behind New Tension

Tensions rose last month after three South Korean soldiers were injured in explosions near the military demarcation line in the western part of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the buffer area separating the two Koreas.

South Korea accused the North of laying the landmines that caused the blasts and called for an apology. North Korea strongly denied the allegations.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has labelled South Korea his most hostile enemy, as talks with Washington remain at a standstill, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s influential sister, accused South Korean forces of broadcasting warnings to North Korean troops and firing warning shots at them. She also warned that Pyongyang could restart loudspeaker propaganda targeting South Korea, a method it has previously used as psychological warfare.

It is uncertain whether Pyongyang will agree to the proposed talks. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has adopted a tougher stance towards Seoul in recent years, bringing almost all dialogue and cooperation between the two countries to a halt.