North and South Korea reach agreement in crisis talks

North and South Korea resumed top-level crisis talks today for avoiding a threatened military clash, even as Seoul accused Pyongyang of undermining the process with renewed naval and land deployments. The North responded with an ultimatum and the talks got underway just hours before that deadline was to have expired.

Her strong words help reveal why the talks, which started on Saturday evening, have dragged on. As The Associated Press notes: “the conversation itself is considered somewhat of a victory”.

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.

“Tough negotiations between high-level representatives of South and North Korea have been under way for many hours amid the grave security crisis on the Korean Peninsula”, Seoul’s presidential spokesperson Min Kyung-wook told reporters, who have been forced into guesswork since bilateral discussions began Saturday.

North Korea has been hit with United Nations and U.S. sanctions because of repeated nuclear and missile tests, moves that Pyongyang sees as an attack on its sovereign right to defend itself.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had ordered “quasi-state of war” and South Korea raised its military readiness to its highest level after the two Koreas fired artillery shells across their heavily-fortified border on Thursday over loudspeaker systems that broadcast anti-North Korean messages from the southern side. North Korea is refusing to apologize for what Seoul says was a land mine attack earlier this month and then an artillery barrage last week.

‘Past inter-Korea agreements at a time like this have tended to be extremely ambiguous, ‘ said Jeung Young-Tae, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

More than 200 South Koreans took part in the rally, holding anti-North placards and chanting “Kim Yong Un out”.

North and South Korea have struck a deal to calm fears of an escalation in the conflict between the two countries following marathon talks.

On Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said that there was “no room to back down”.

Meanwhile, South Korean police are investigating online rumours, including that of a gun battle at the truce line which killed 190 North Koreans and a South Korean. In April 2013 it had flown B-2 stealth bombers in a warning to North Korea which threatened Seoul with military actions in response to US and South Korea’s joint annual drills.

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

The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the countries haven’t ratified their 1953 peace treaty.