Koreas Agree to Scrap 22 Guard Posts by December

Each side will dismantle 11 posts, withdraw equipment

Adding to a number of other deals negotiated between the two Koreas in recent days, the two have agreed to scrap 22 guard posts along the border. Each side will dismantle 11 of their posts, removing equipment and troops.

All the posts are scheduled to be dismantled by the end of November, with mutual verification coming in early December. The posts are believed to be close to the truce village of Panmunjom.

Technically speaking, the Koreas had already agreed to remove all the posts near Panmunjom over the course of the next year. This new deal greatly speeds up the pace, and is reflective of weeks of successful talks.

Guard posts within Panmunjom, along with firearms, were already removed form the Joint Security Area earlier this week. The end scenario for the village is to have 35 troops from each side therein, and no arms at all.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.