Koreas begin disarming the DMZ

North and South Korean troops on Monday began removing landmines from their heavily fortified border following agreements the two nations reached last month, according to South Korean officials. The South Korean defense ministry released a statement saying the countries would remove the landmines from the Demilitiarized Zone within the next 20 days. South Korea deployed army engineers to the border village of Panmunjom and Arrow Head Hill, where the two nations plan to launch their first joint searches for soldiers killed in the Korean War. North Korea did not confirm whether it started to remove mines on the border’s northern side.

During a summit last month in Pyongyang, North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also promised to remove their frontline guard posts by December and set up buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries.