South, North Korea militaries to meet on train tests

These talks will be held next week to guarantee the safe passage of trains across the heavily-fortified border.

High-level military officers from South and North Korea on Friday agreed to hold talks next week to guarantee the safe passage of trains across the heavily-fortified border, said the defence ministry in Seoul.

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The meeting will be held on May 8-10 at the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). This meeting will be the first general-level talks in nearly a year between military officers.

The test runs of the inter-Korean railways, which have been cut since the Korean War 1950-53, is slated for May 17 after being delayed from last year, partly due to a lack of military guarantees for their safe operations.

The rail lines were reconnected as a result of the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000. The two Koreas are still technically at war as they have only agreed to a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.