Page 298 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Korean joint remains recovery; establishment of a maritime peace zone near the NLL in the West Sea;

and joint utilization of the Han River Estuary (HRE). In order to ensure concrete implementation
th
of the CMA, the two sides convened the “10 Inter-Korean General Off icer-level Military Talks” on
October 26, 2018, and assessed the interim status of implementation and discussed the way forward.

In accordance with the ‘Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration
in the Military Domain,’ the military authorities of South and North Korea ceased all hostile acts
on land, sea and air as of November 1, 2018. South and North Korea, together with the United

Nations Command (UNC), are making progress to demilitarize the JSA by holding three iterations
of the “Trilateral Consultative Body.” Moreover, as a pilot project, the military authorities of the
two Koreas withdrew f irearms, equipment and personnel from 11 GPs within the DMZ, and on

November 30, 2018, both sides completely dismantled and destroyed 10 GPs, with the exception
of one preserved GP on each side. Following this, on December 12, 2018, soldiers from both sides
crossed the MDL for the f irst time since the division of Korea to conduct a joint verif ication at the
sites of the 11 GPs. In regard to the joint remains recovery project at Arrowhead Heights in DMZ,

the recovery site was demined, and a road was connected between both sides ahead of the actual
remains recovery operations set to begin in April 2019. In the HRE, a joint hydrographic survey was

conducted from November 5 to December 9, 2018, to ensure freedom of navigation within the area
for civilian vessels.
The MND will support the ROK government’s North Korea policy toward peace and prosperity
on the Korean Peninsula by leading the effort for easing inter-Korean military tensions and

conf idence building through successful implementation of the agreed military measures.

2. Establishment of a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula

and Arms Control

| Establishment of a Peace Regime 6) | With the Armistice Agreement maintained since 1953,
both South and North Korea have steadily worked to enable a transition from armistice to peace.

6) The state when the Armistice Agreement is replaced by a peace treaty and sufficient mutual trust exists to ensure
permanent peace legally, institutionally, and realistically

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