North Korea and South Korea agreed during a series of marathon talks measures to address escalating tension that had left the two neighbors and rivals to the brink of armed conflict countries.
the measures detailed in a joint statement, included a very unusual gesture of Korea North, who "expressed apology" by the explosion of two mines this month maimed two South Korean soldiers guarding the border area.
Meanwhile, South Korea agreed to stop transmission North Korean propaganda count the communist regime through loudspeakers located along the border, a practice that had resumed -after a break of more than a decade in retaliation for the explosions of mines.
the speakers will be off tomorrow at noon, and at the same time North Korea will lift the "state of near war" declared last week by its leader week Kim Jong-Un , the statement added, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
the two Koreas also agreed to work towards a resumption next month of separated families by War Korea (1950-1953), and hold official talks in Seoul or Pyongyang on a date to be agreed.
the agreement was reached during intensive talks in Panmunjom, a town on the border between the two countries, which had begun on Saturday night.
secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon gave his "warm welcome" to the understanding and expressed hope that encourages a dialogue between the two countries.
"I am very grateful that the agreement maintains a regular inter-Korean dialogue and hope that this will serve as a mechanism to effectively manage problems that may arise in the Korean peninsula, "said the head of the UN in a statement.
United States, which has 28,500 troops deployed in South Korea since the end of the war between the two Koreas, welcomed the agreement and attributed much of that success to the "tireless efforts" of the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye.
"We support the tireless efforts of president Park to improve inter-Korean relations, supporting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," said the spokesman of the State Department, John Kirby, quoted by the news agency EFE.
"Now North Korea must act, and not only provide guarantees for its own military along the border activities," said Kirby.
the dialogue was held with the backdrop of a dangerous military tension, which last week led to a rare exchange of artillery fire across the border, with both sides raising the tone of his accusations against another and flaunting their military capacity.
the tension continued to rise even during discussions with South Korea and the United States carrying out mock raids and reports that North Korea had deployed two thirds of its fleet of 70 submarines.
"I hope that from now on, the agreement is implemented and confidence is strengthened through dialogue and cooperation to build a new inter-Korean relationship that meets the expectations of the people, "said senior South Korean negotiator, National Security adviser Kim Kwan-jin told reporters.
Just hours before president Park had insisted that his country would not stop issuing propaganda unless North Korea apologized.
North and South remain technically at odds since the Korean War (1950 -53), which ended with an armistice never replaced by a final peace treaty.
As a legacy of that conflict, the United States maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea to support the commitment of defend its ally in the event of an armed conflict occur with the regime of Kim.
Source: Telam