Photo : YONHAP News

The talk was designed to follow on from an inter-Korean summit in April, at which leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse tensions and halt “all hostile acts.” Kim Do-gyun, South Korea’s chief negotiator in charge of the North Korea policy at the defense ministry, told reporters before leaving for the DMZ that he would make efforts to craft “substantive” measures to ease tensions and build trust. The two sides are expected to discuss a possible cut in firearms and personnel stationed at the DMZ, as well as a joint excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. Ahn Ik-san, the general leading the North Korean delegation at the military talks,  said he hoped the talk will be fruitful.