Inter-Korean Defense Ministers Meeting Called off

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Inter-Korean Defense Ministers Meeting Called off

The second inter-Korean defense ministers meeting has been called off, the Defense Ministry of South Korea confirmed on Wednesday.

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The second inter-Korean defense ministers meeting has been called off, the Defense Ministry of South Korea confirmed on Wednesday.

At a working-level meeting held at the truce village of Panmunjom on Oct. 25, South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to hold the second round of defense ministers talks in the DPRK within November, the ministry was quoted by national news agency Yonhap News as reporting.

The DPRK sent a telephone message to South Korea on Nov. 13, saying it had difficulties setting the date for such a meeting because of administrative reasons, said the ministry, adding the DPRK had not mentioned the issue since then.

The first inter-Korean defense ministers meeting was held on Jeju Island of South Korea in September 2000.

Inter-Korean relations are currently at a sensitive stage because of the DPRK's declaration that it has the right to possess nuclear weapons. The declaration aroused severe concerns in relevant countries such as South Korea, the United States and Japan.

Moreover, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)'s decision in mid-November to suspend fuel oil provision to the DPRK since December exacerbated the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

But the two sides still wanted to develop their ties.

According to a news release of the Defense Ministry of South Korea Wednesday, the DPRK informed South Korea that it will resume operations to clear landmines inside the demilitarized Zone on Thursday as part of the ongoing project to reconnect inter-Korean railways and roads.

The mines clearance work has been suspended since two weeks ago because of a dispute between the DPRK and the United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea over the South-North joint cross-border inspection of the work progress.

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