South Korea, US held talks on revising management of fortified North Korea border

SEOUL, May 21 (Reuters) – South Korea and the U.S. discussed potential changes in how parts of the heavily fortified border with North Korea are managed at recent defence talks in Washington, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Thursday.

The issue was discussed at a bilateral integrated defence consultative body, a ministry spokesperson said, adding there had been “progress”. She denied reports that it could result in joint or divided control of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

“It is not joint management. Nor is it divided management,” the spokesperson told a briefing. “It (is) making DMZ management in some sections more realistic.”

The DMZ marks a buffer zone along the line where the 1950-53 Korean War – when China and North Korea battled U.N. forces led by the United States – ended with an armistice, not a treaty.

The United Nations Command oversees the DMZ under the armistice agreement, and the defence ministry spokesperson said Seoul respected its authority while consulting with Washington on technical arrangements for some areas.

The comments come as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said his country would ​seek to reclaim wartime operational control from the U.S. during his term, which runs through to 2030.

The U.S. currently would command allied troops ​in the event of war on the Korean peninsula, but successive South Korean ​governments have sought to regain wartime operational control.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry has also recently shifted language on North Korea. Its 2026 white paper said South and North Korea effectively exist as two states, while Seoul still seeks eventual unification.

(Reporting by Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)