S.Korean ministers to visit border islands over maritime peace zone with DPRK

SEOUL, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Four South Korean ministers planned to visit border islands to discuss with residents over the maritime peace zone with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which the leaders of the two sides agreed to form at the third inter-Korean summit, Yonhap news agency reported Saturday.

Defense Minister Song Young-moo, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Young-choon planned to visit Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands in western waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The ministers would communicate Saturday with residents about how to resolve military tensions and ensure safe fishing activities near the border islands.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un met on April 27 at the border village of Panmunjom, agreeing to turn the western waters near the NLL into a maritime peace zone to prevent accidental military clashes and ensure safe fishing activities.

The NLL has served as a de facto inter-Korean sea border, but Pyongyang denied it as it was drawn by the U.S.-led UN Command after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Naval skirmishes happened between the two sides in the past, escalating military tensions on the peninsula.

The leaders of the two countries agreed to alter the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty by the end of this year. The peninsula remains technically at war as the Korean War ended with armistice. Enditem