Koreas reach deal on defusing tensions

The talks that began Saturday at the border village of Panmunjom, where the Koreas agreed to the 1953 ceasefire that stopped fighting in the Korean War, also resulted in Pyongyang agreeing to lift a “quasi-state of war” declared last week, according to South Korea’s presidential office and North Korea’s state media.

Despite the resumption of the top-level talks and the ongoing marathon dialogue, which indicated a strong willingness from both sides to defuse the tensions, Park said that South Korea will sternly retaliate against any DPRK provocations.

North and South Korea have reportedly struck a deal following talks aimed at ending tensions, Yonhap news agency reports.

Pyongyang also expressed “regret” for recent mine explosions that maimed two South Korean soldiers, the incident that sparked the standoff. Seoul put the blame on North Korea and demanded an apology, resuming the anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts.

North Korea is accused of launching two shells, while South Korea is believed to have fired dozens of shells in response, the Ministry said.

Park took a hard stance in her comments Monday, saying the loudspeaker broadcasts would continue unless North Korea apologized for the recent provocations.

The United States is now trying to determine the intention of North Korea in maintaining a military presence in the DMZ since it has limited financial ability to carry out large military operations.

The South Korean government announced last week that Park would be attending activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war next week, although it was still not clear whether she would be showing up at the military parade, a centrepiece event.

Anti-North Korean activists hold signs and shout slogans as they stand on the Unification Bridge that leads to the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea in Paju, yesterday.

South Korea said it would turn off the loudspeaker systems at noon local time on Tuesday.

Military action in the area had been escalating for weeks, with South Korea reporting that North Korea was mobilizing its troops and submarines.

Despite Pyongyang’s past record of making dramatic but largely unrealised threats, the ultimatum sent tensions soaring to their highest level for years, with the North re-positioning artillery units and South Korean and US fighter jets flying simulated bombing runs.

It will also be viewed with some relief by the United States, which has almost 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea and had repeatedly reiterated its commitment to the defence of its key Asian ally.

“Mr Hwang is seen by many analysts as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s second-in-command”.

Such scenes are typical on North Korea’s only television channel, but Sunday’s fare appeared to have less variety than usual.