The Korean War began in 1950, and 68 years later a peace deal is still not finalized. There is hope, however, as troops from both Koreas are active along the demilitarized zone, removing some of the estimated 800,000 landmines buried around the area.
It took generations to mine that long demilitarized zone at the border, and it’s going to take a long time to totally clear it. Work is starting in the Joint Security Area (JSA), the narrowest part, near the truce village of Panmunjom.
The hope, according to those familiar with the work, is to totally demine the JSA within the next 20 days. After that, guard posts and all weapons will also be removed. This will leave the JSA with unarmed troops stationed inside.
Both sides have made several moves to lower tensions along the border over the course of 2018, as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in have had three successful summits. Clearing the JSA of landmines, however, is the biggest move yet along the demilitarized zone.
Both leaders are seeking a peace treaty to end the Korean War, though the US has been somewhat resistant to the idea. If completed, the demilitarized zone would itself be dismantled, and the two nations would have a proper border without generations of military hardware parked along it.
It sounds so simple and should be-at last two countries with populations closely related will be free to interact peacefully. However, the USA cannot stand the idea of people doing as they wish, in peace and harmony, not under the control of the Big Brother who has so many “interests” in threats, invasions, troops, profits for weapons-makers, power play.
B.R.Myers, writing from Busan South Korea, claims that nationalism is potent in Korea (as one might expect) and that North Korea, not being influenced by the west, might have an edge in the department.
thanks for the link, Don. North Korea under the Kims has achieved an enormous amount in health, education, infrastructure when we remember its complete destruction. Dictators is an easy word to use, but the USA is far from what I would consider even resembling a democracy, so it needs to rethink its plans.
Apparently this is a joint Korean project not involving the US puppet UN Command, so that’s a good sign and maybe a portent of future progress with the Koreas side-stepping the US. The UN command made the news in August when it refused to allow a South Korean train to enter the North, reported here.
This is how peace is built, removing one murderous piece of equipment at a time. Not really complicated.