Troops to remove mines near Kyongui Line

Parts of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) near the section of the Kyongui Railway Line to be restored are expected to undergo a dramatic change.

Mines, the symbol of inter-Korean tensions, will be removed from the area, and it will be transformed into a land of peace and cooperation filled with the sounds of trains traveling between the South and the North. Kim Jong-Hwan, policy assistant at the Ministry of Defense, said Saturday that some 1,000 military engineering troops will start removing mines buried along the 12km-long rail section from Sonyu-ri, Mundan to Changdan Station in the middle of September at the earliest.

The soldiers will also build the bases for train tracks in the area, he said. Approximately 1 million mines are buried in the 155-mile DMZ. In the 73,000 pyong (240,000 square meters) southern section of the Kyongui Line, about 100,000 mines are buried, according to military authorities.

The North will also mobilize People¡¯s Army soldiers to remove mines in the northern section. Once the Kyongui Line is restored, the South and the North are expected to establish checkpoints for quarantine on both sides of the DMZ, which may also function as virtual immigration offices.

A highly-placed source said the government plans to propose the establishment of the checkpoints during the second inter-Korean ministerial meeting slated for Aug. 29-31 in Pyongyang.

He said it would be necessary to check and quarantine trains traveling between the South and the North if the Kyongui Line is restored and operated.