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| A South Korean, right, and a North Korean shake hands as the two Koreas start building a road inside the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Thursday. Yonhap |
The Koreas will connect a three-kilometer tactical road across the Military Demarcation Line inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Thursday to support a joint project to excavate Korean War remains at a notorious battle site.
The road will be established at Arrowhead Ridge, or Hill 281, in Cheorwon, 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul ― a site that the two sides have designated for the project to retrieve war remains from April to October next year.
The Koreas' first road connection in 14 years came amid a flurry of bilateral efforts to build trust and reduce military tensions with the ultimate goal of a lasting peace regime on the divided peninsula. They built their first such cross-border road on the west coast in 2003 and the second on the east coast the following year.
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| The joint road construction by the two Koreas at Arrowhead Ridge, where several key battles were fought in 1952-53 during the Korean War. The two sides will begin a project next year to retrieve the remains of soldiers. Yonhap |
"It carries a great meaning because the road was built in Cheorwon, which lies at the very center of the peninsula, for the first time since the Armistice Agreement was signed (to halt the 1950-53 Cold War conflict)," Seoul's defense ministry said in a press release.
"It is also meaningful historically as it paves the way for efforts to practically push for the joint excavation project aimed at healing the scars of war through this road that was built at the center of one of the fiercest battles," it added.
Since October, the Koreas have been constructing the road and demining the ridge to ensure safety ahead of next year's excavation project. The South's part of the road is around 1.7 kilometers long, while the North's part spans about 1.3 km. The road is up to 12 meters wide.
The unpaved road will be used to transport personnel and equipment for the retrieval of troop remains.
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| Workers from both Koreas build the road near the Military Demarcation Line inside the DMZ. Landmines were cleared earlier this year as part of the project to retrieve war remains. Yonhap |
There were three key battles against communist forces on Arrowhead Ridge from 1952-53. The remains of more than 200 South Korean soldiers and dozens of U.N. Command (UNC) forces, such as U.S. and French troops, are thought to be buried there.
The excavation project is part of a military agreement the Koreas' defense ministers signed after the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang in September.
The military agreement includes a series of confidence-building and conventional arms control measures, such as disarming the Joint Security Area in the DMZ and setting up air, ground and maritime buffer zones to prevent accidental clashes. (Yonhap)
