Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

First inter-Korean military working-level talks for the free navigation of civil vessels held this year

On January 30th, Republic of Korea delivered the completed nautical chart reflecting inter-Korean investigations on the Han River estuary to North Korea.  

On January 30th, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported that the South and North Korean military authorities had held working-level talks at the T-3 military building of the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) in the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom to deliver the nautical chart of Han River estuary. 

It was this year’s first meeting between South and North Korean military authorities for the implementation of the Sept. 19 military pact.  

This working-level meeting follows up North Korea’s response to a phone proposal in the name of the head of the Republic of Korean delegation, which was sent to North Korea on January 25th. The South and North Korean sides both dispatched five-member delegations to the meeting, which included Republic of Korean Army Colonel Cho Yong-kun, Marine Corps Colonel Yun Chang-hee, and officials from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and North Korean colonel-level official Ham In-sop and Senior Colonel Oh Myung-cheol, head of North Korean Survey Team. 

At the working-level talks, the Republic of Korean delegation delivered the nautical chart of the joint waterway survey and a report on survey results to its North Korean counterpart. The two Koreas also had a signing ceremony for directors of inter-Korean joint waterway survey teams.  

The delegations also discussed practical issues pertaining to the free navigation of civil vessels in the Han River estuary. The two Koreas have agreed to allow the free navigation of civil vessels in the area on a trial basis starting April 1st, in line with the Sept. 19 military pact.  

The two Koreas’ sharing of the nautical chart on Wednesday paves the way for the free navigation of civil vessels in the Han River estuary, which had been suspended for 65 years since the armistice agreement was signed in 1953.  

The MND judged this as a meaningful outcome produced by inter-Korean collaboration. “The military authorities of South and North Korea will continue to make efforts to implement the Sept. 19 military pact, as planned,” the MND spokesperson added.

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >

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