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The war of nerves, which has been a fixture for more than a half century on the Cold War frontier, will become history when South and North Korea put into effect unprecedented tension-reducing military measures at midnight Monday.
"This has a symbolic significance as it is a preparatory step for inter-Korean reconciliation towards disarmament," Wu Seung-ji, a researcher at the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, was quoted by the Yonhap News Agency as saying.
Wu also said the move is expected to create a good milieu for six-nation talks aimed at resolving the tension over the nuclear weapons issue of the Korean Peninsula. The next meeting is slated for June 23-26 in Beijing.
Building on a measure of reconciliation initiated by the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, the militaries of the two sides earlier this month agreed to stop propaganda broadcast on their land border and take a series of measures to reduce tension on a disputed sea border.
The agreement also required the two sides to remove all broadcasting facilities and propaganda billboards that dot the hilly border that meanders roughly along the 38th parallel. The removal should begin on Wednesday and be completed by Aug. 15.
For the first time on Monday, warships from the two sides exchanged radio messages across the poorly marked maritime border to confirm their non-hostile intentions. Such radio exchanges will become a day-to-day routine.
Under pre-set arrangements, warships from both sides are bound to share a radio frequency and use the same flag and flash signals to avoid accidental armed clashes.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2004)
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