South Korea proposed military talks with North Korea on November 17 to clarify the Military Demarcation Line and prevent accidental clashes near the border. The move marks the first official proposal since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June amid repeated North Korean troop crossings. It remains unclear if Pyongyang will respond positively.
On November 17, South Korea's Defense Ministry proposed military talks with North Korea to clarify the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and avert potential clashes near the inter-Korean border. The initiative responds to repeated instances where armed North Korean soldiers have crossed the MDL during activities like land clearing or mine-laying in the buffer zone. Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Kim Hong-cheol stated, "Our military officially suggests holding inter-Korean talks between military authorities to discuss how to establish the Military Demarcation Line, to prevent accidental clashes and ease military tensions."
Kim added, "We anticipate the North's positive and swift response to our proposal, aimed at reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and restoring military trust," and expressed openness to discussing details such as venue and schedule. Since April last year, North Korea has stationed troops near the MDL in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to install mines, erect anti-tank barriers, and reinforce barbed wire fences, following leader Kim Jong-un's late 2023 description of inter-Korean ties as between "two states hostile to each other."
This year alone, North Korean troops have crossed the border about 10 times, including in October when two soldiers briefly intruded while pursuing a defecting comrade. South Korea has responded with warning broadcasts and shots when violations occur. Kim noted that the incursions likely stem from lost 1953 armistice markers—nearly 1,300 one-meter-tall concrete posts with signs, of which only about one-sixth remain identifiable. U.N. Command (UNC) maintenance halted after a 1973 North Korean shooting incident.
Alongside the proposal, South Korea removed border loudspeakers and halted propaganda broadcasts to rebuild trust. However, North Korea has ignored President Lee Jae Myung's dialogue calls. In July, Kim Yo-jong, influential sister of Kim Jong-un, dismissed engagement with Seoul. The following month, Pyongyang condemned South Korean warning shots as "premeditated and deliberate provocations inciting military conflict."
If held, the talks would be the first since 2018 general-level meetings, following two ministerial and 40 working-level sessions since 2000. The UNC affirmed its commitment to "supporting efforts that uphold the principles of the Armistice and reduce the risk of escalation," coordinating closely with Seoul.
