Page 308 - 2020 Defence White Paper

military agreement to implement the
Panmunjom Declaration through the
8th inter-Korean general officer-level
talks on June 14, 2018, 9th inter-Korean
general officer-level talks on July 31,
and 40th inter-Korean working-level
talks from September 13-14. Finally,
on September 19, 2018, the Defense 8th inter-Korean major general-level talks (June 2018)
Ministers of the two Koreas signed
and concluded the CMA as an annex to the Pyongyang Joint Declaration before the
leaders of the ROK and North Korea.
With the conclusion of the CMA, the military authorities of the two Koreas are
faithfully implementing the cessation of all hostile acts, demilitarization of the Joint
Security Area (JSA), pilot withdrawal of guard posts (GP) by both parties in the
DMZ, joint recovery of remains, and joint use of the Han River estuary. The CMA
effectively contributes to putting an end to the military confrontation between the
two Koreas, which has lasted over 70 years, and eliminating the risk of war and
accidental armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
In particular, the military situation around the border area between the two Koreas
has been stable due to the cessation of mutual hostility in maritime, ground, and air
buffer zones, which has been in force since November 1, 2018.
On the ground, both the ROK and North Korea ceased artillery fire and outdoor
military maneuvers (regiment level and above) in buffer zones, each of which is an

area that spans 5 kilometers north and south from the Military Demarcation Line
(MDL). At sea, both the ROK and North Korea placed covers over the muzzles and
gun barrels of naval and coastal artillery, shut down gunports, and ceased live-fire
exercises and maritime maneuver training. In the air, no-fly zones were established
for each type of aircraft around the MDL, and flights not announced in advance
are not carried out between the two Koreas. However, the ROK Armed Forces
has dispatched a total of 180 helicopters in no-fly zones to extinguish forest fires
and transport emergency patients in a normal manner, and continues to share the
pertinent details with the North Korean military authorities pursuant to the CMA.
The military authorities of the two Koreas have organized a "three-way con-
sultative body of the two Koreas and the United Nations Command (UNC)" under
the CMA and completed the demilitarization of the JSA as of October 27, 2018. For
the first time since the signing of the Armistice Agreement in 1953, the two Koreas
and the UNC jointly inspected and confirmed the completion of demilitarization

306 2020 Defense White Paper