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PANMUNJOM, South Korea : North and South Korea struggled Wednesday to find common ground on their disputed sea border, the scene of past bloody clashes, on the second day of high-level military talks.
"As I said yesterday, there is still difficulty in narrowing differences over the issue of the Northern Limit Line," South Korean Colonel Moon Seong-Mook told reporters.
The North wants a new border in the Yellow Sea, a demand that Seoul rejects. Pyongyang refuses to recognise the Northern Limit Line drawn up by United Nations forces at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Six South Koreans were killed in a clash in June 2002 in the area, while in June 1999 a similar skirmish killed dozens of North Korean sailors.
The North says South Korean warships continue to fuel tensions by violating its waters in the area, accusations rejected by Seoul as groundless.
Moon said the two sides discussed ways to prevent naval clashes, to set up a joint fishing area and to provide military safety guarantees for cross-border railways, roads and other economic cooperation projects.
"There are aspects where some differences of opinion have narrowed and others where there hasn't been much progress," he said.
"Both sides are trying to reach a compromise or an agreement in this round of talks."
The three-day talks at the border truce village of Panmunjom are the first to be led by generals since May. Those talks ended fruitlessly due to the sea border dispute.
North Korea has proposed creating a joint fishing zone in rich crab-fishing grounds south of the Northern Limit Line, while South Korea wants the zone to be established along the line.
The North is also demanding that its cargo ships be allowed to take a shortcut home across the sea border and wants joint development around the mouths of cross-border rivers.
- AFP
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