U.N. Command in Korea agrees to 'rules' at border between North, South

Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations Command on the Korean Peninsula met with military officials of the North and South on Tuesday and agreed to create a "rules of interaction" for the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone.

In what was their third meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, the U.S.-led U.N. Command, Seoul and Pyongyang military representatives agreed to establish "joint working rules," Yonhap reported.

"[The three sides] agreed to draft the rules of interaction that will be applied to guard duty in the JSA and decided to make a decision on them at an early date through exchanges of documents," the South Korean military said in its official statement to the press following the meeting.

Burke Hamilton, secretary of the U.N. Command's military armistice committee, was present at the meeting that included the South's Col. Cho Yong-geun and North Korea's Om Chong Nam.

The three sides also reviewed the results of joint inspections of the border that took place in October, and confirmed new border posts have been installed.

"One new North Korean and one new South Korean guard post have each been established on the North's and South's side of the JSA," a South Korean military official told Yonhap, adding "free movement" will be made possible for South Koreans and foreign visitors at the Military Demarcation Line by mid-November.

Easing security at the border comes at a time when North Korea continues to strategically criticize the United States.

Choe Kang Il, a deputy director general for North American affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, said Washington has not reciprocated with concessions, following the detonation of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear site, the Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday.

Choe was speaking at an international symposium in Vienna, Austria, in October.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to meet with top North Korea official Kim Yong Chol in New York on Thursday.