Page 300 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Cooperation between South and North Korea. As the military authorities of the two Koreas agreed

to continue to discuss various practical measures to realize a phased disarmament in the ’Agreement
on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain’, they are
presented for the f irst time with a chance to dramatically change the conventional military order of

the Korean Peninsula by reaching a consensus on practical methods for preventing accidental clashes
and building conf idence through the control of each side’s military forces. Above all, a turning point
has been provided to transform the Korean Peninsula into a permanent peace zone by turning the

DMZ and the West Sea, the symbols of conf lict and confrontation, into a land and sea of peace.
Going forward, the ROK government intends to discuss disarmament with North Korea in a phased
manner by ref lecting on the progress made in the practical military conf idence building measures

between South and North Korea for the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
In keeping with the ROK government’s position on this issue, the MND intends to prepare
measures necessary for Operational Arms Control 9) and Structural Arms Control 10) by considering
the shifts in the security environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula and the extent of the

implementation of military conf idence building measures. The MND will begin by actively
undertaking measures to prevent accidental clashes and building military conf idence agreed upon

in the Panmunjom Declaration such as substantively transforming the DMZ into a peace zone,
creating a maritime peace zone around the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea, holding
regular military talks, and establishing a direct communication line between the military authorities
of South and North Korea. In addition, the MND will carry out operational arms control in a

phased manner, commensurate with the degree of détente and conf idence building, by restricting
large-scale military activities and limiting or adjusting the deployment of military might, and push
ahead with structural arms control to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula according to the

progress made in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and construction of a peace regime.
In this process, there will be no security issues, and the ROK government will maintain a robust
security posture to prevent such concerns from arising.

9) Arms control measures to reduce the risks of, or prevent, war by placing constraints on the operations and
deployment of military forces without changing their structure or size.
10) Any measures adopted to maintain the stability and balance of the military by structurally constraining or
reducing military forces and weapons systems that are practical elements of forces including their composition
and organization.

298 Chapter 7 Military Assurance for the Establishment of a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula