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North Korea demolishes one of its GPs in the central region of the DMZ on Nov. 20. (provided by the Ministry of National Defense)
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Joint demolition to be followed by exhumation of POW/MIA remains in Arrowhead Hill
Around 3 pm on Nov. 20, North Korea simultaneously detonated ten guard posts (GPs) designed for observation in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), keeping its promise to completely dismantle the GPs by the end of this month. “On Nov. 18, the North Koreans used the military communication lines near the West Sea to tell us that they would detonate the ten GPs subject to the probationary withdrawal at 3 pm on Nov. 20. We confirmed that the North Korean GPs were completely destroyed at the time announced by the North,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced. The detonation of the North Korean GPs, located in the eastern, central and western segments of the front, occurred simultaneously and lasted around four minutes. South and North Korea removed all staff and equipment from the GPs subject to the probationary withdrawal by Nov. 10 and immediately began working on demolishing them. On Nov. 10 and 11, North Korean troops were observed tearing down structures at GPs in the central section of the DMZ. South Korean troops have been primarily using excavators to destroy the GPs, along with explosives. In the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) reached on Sept. 19, South and North Korea agreed to each tear down 11 GPs in the DMZ on a probationary level. During subsequent deliberations, they decided to each conserve one of these GPs in consideration of their historical symbolism, among other reasons, while completely destroying the rest of them by the end of this month. The South Korean government decided to preserve a GP on the East Coast that was the first to be installed after the Korean War ended with the signing of an armistice agreement in 1953. North Korea reportedly selected the Kkachil Peak GP in the central section of the front, which was visited by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2013. On Nov. 22, South and North Korea will be linking roads to carry out a joint search for remains of fallen soldiers near Arrowhead Hill (Hwasalmeori) in the DMZ in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province. This will be the first time that roads in the DMZ have been connected since the armistice was signed. During the June 19 military agreement, the two sides agreed that as part of facilitating the exhumation of remains, they would build roads 12m wide in that area and connect them at the military demarcation line. By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
