The Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 17 proposed talks with North Korea on clarifying the baseline of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Shown is a stained signboard indicating the MDL behind a barbed wire fence in the DMZ. (Park Jongwoo from Korea Copyright Commission)

By Charles Audouin

The Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 17 proposed talks with North Korea on setting the baseline of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

In a statement, the ministry said, "To prevent accidental clashes and ease military tension, the military officially proposes holding talks between inter-Korean military authorities on setting the baseline of the MDL."

The ministry said its proposal came in response to the North's recent activity in the DMZ, as North Korean soldiers crossed the MDL several times into the South while building tactical roads and barbed wire fences and laying mines. In response, the South Korean military used warning broadcasts and shots to make the soldiers to go back to their side of the border.

The ministry warned of the potential for rising tension and military conflict within the DMZ if this situation persists. It also cited the loss of many MDL markers installed during the 1953 Armistice Agreement and differing perceptions of the border between the Koreas in select areas.

Seoul and Pyeongyang in August 1953 set up such markers under the supervision of the Military Armistice Commission. In 1973, repair work by the United Nations Command was interrupted by North Korean gunfire, and restoration of the signs remains unfinished to present day.

Thus in 2004, South Korea and the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency began working to align each side's MDLs on original maps with terrain, and this is applied to military maps today. Any difficulty in identification results in the MDL coordinate lines of such maps.

The Office of the President also told a briefing that day, "We proposed talks on setting the baseline of the MDL to prevent accidental inter-Korean clashes and ease military tension."

caudouin@korea.kr