Koreas agree to reduce tensions along border

Analysts said the package of practical measures reflected a thaw between armed forces.

Military generals from the two sides agreed on measures to avoid accidental clashes in the disputed western sea border, said a joint statement issued after overnight marathon talks which began Thursday.

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Naval skirmishes in the fishing grounds off the western coast during the May-June crab season have disrupted rapprochement in recent years on the peninsula.

The measures agreed Friday include setting up a telephone hotline, sharing a radio frequency, using joint signaling systems and exchanging information on illicit fishing in the area, starting from June 15.

South and North Korea also agreed to stop propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and to dismantle propaganda signboards along the 248-kilometer (154-mile) land border by August 15.

The agreements were seen as a big step forward as the two Koreas remain technically in conflict since the 1950-1953 Korean War which ended in a fragile armistice, not a peace treaty.

"Both sides have taken an initial step to reduce military tensions by agreeing to prevent accidental clashes," said Koh Yu-Hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongkuk University.

"It is also symbolically of great significance for them to pave the way for regular military talks."

South Korean political parties hailed the agreements.

The accords, "may serve as a bridgehead for further inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation," the ruling Uri Pary said in a statement.

Another round of working-level talks is set to open in the North Korean border city of Kaesong next Thursday to discuss ways of implementing what they have agreed, the South's spokesman Colonel Moon Sung-Mook said.

"The government would turn these talks into a main dialogue channel to discuss measures to ease military tensions and build mutual trust," he said.